Objectives - Why this project and for whom?

The project examined how the right of Roma with EU citizenship to move freely and reside in the Member States of the EU is respected, protected, and promoted. The goal of the project was to provide EU institutions and Member States, as well as the FRA, with important information for the development of effective policies and measures to address the needs of the Roma population. Particular emphasis was placed on "promotion" of the right of freedom of movement and residence.

Details - What did the project involve?

At the core of this project is qualitative fieldwork research that actively seeks to study and involved Roma at the different stages of the research, as appropriate. Exploring Roma's views, perceptions, attitudes and experiences is critical to assessing the effectiveness of current practices and to identify the changes necessary to ensure that Roma needs are met. The project also proposed means for empowering Roma to engage more actively in shaping their future, including through their active participation in the research. The field research focused on the movement of Roma from Central Europe (especially Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Czech Republic) to Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The project explored the views, experiences and expectations of the sample of Roma and the sample of local officials identified in five Member States (Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) through a programme of semi-structured interviews.

Innovation - What's 'new' about the project?

This prkoject was a "joint action" with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. See more

Outputs - What did the project deliver?

The research part of this project has now been completed and the outputs are shown below.

	The situation of Roma EU citizens moving to and settling in other EU Member States - Comparative report The report highlights the case of the Roma and their particular challenges in exercising these rights. Based on the evidence of its report, the FRA advises the EU and its Member States to adopt targeted policies promoting social cohesion to ensure that all citizens can exercise their right to freedom of movement effectively.
	The situation of Roma EU citizens moving to and settling in other EU Member States - Summary report
	Selected positive initiatives - The situation of Roma EU citizens moving to and settling in other EU Member States Drawing mainly on primary qualitative research conducted in Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, this report provides a synthesis of information on positive initiatives with regard to the social inclusion of Roma EU citizens living in other EU Member States.
	The situation of Roma EU citizens moving to and settling in other EU Member States - Infosheet

FRA Programme: WP 2008, ref: 3.2.1

Related Information

Against the backdrop of human rights violations arising as a result of the migration and freedom of movement of EU Roma citizens during 2008 and 2009, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) initiated research and/or conducted a number of field visits.

The FRA, the OSCE and the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human agreed to cooperate closely in the implementation of recommendations and opinions arising from this research and the field visits. The three organisations held a joint expert seminar on 9 and 10 July in Strasbourg to discuss human rights violations of Roma in the context of freedom of movement and migration. The objective of the seminar was to prepare an international high-level conference on freedom of movement and migration of Roma, which took place on 09-10 November in Vienna.

This project page was last updated on 31.08.2014