2023 edition of European Platform for Roma Inclusion to focus on equal access for Roma to adequate and desegregated housing

The 16th edition of European Platform for Roma Inclusion, jointly organised by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, will be held on 30 November in Madrid. 

European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, will inaugurate the event together with the Spanish Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy Amador. The event will address the topic of “Ensuring equal access to adequate desegregated housing through better use of EU and national funds”.  It will also  offer a forum to present the Council Conclusions on Measures to ensure equal access for Roma to adequate and desegregated housing, and to address segregated settlements that were adopted in October 2023. 

Besides the policy related issues, various representatives from the European Commission, Members of the European Parliament and civil society such as the Spanish National Roma Council will discuss how to make more efficient use of EU and national funds to enable equal access for Roma to adequate and desegregated housing. Funding is an essential precondition to improve housing conditions and to end the segregation stemming from discrimination, antigypsyism and social exclusion of many Roma people in the European Union. 

The European Commission has various financial tools available for this purpose, including the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV). For example, a Call for proposals to National Roma Contact Points for Roma equality, inclusion and participation was published on 21 November 2023.

 The European Platform for Roma Inclusion will provide a political steer to the meeting of National Roma Contact Points and the EURoma Network taking place the following day.