Cyprus

EU Funding for Roma integration

For the 2014-2020 period, Cyprus will receive a total of €724 million (current prices) in EU funds, out of which €422 million will come from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Of this amount, at least 30.7% will be spent on the ESF, with at least 20% of that going towards the promotion of social inclusion and combating poverty. The latter could also finance Roma-related measures.

• Communication in 2015 on the implementation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies 

Contacts

Facts and figures

The Council of Europe estimates that there are approximately 1,250 Roma living in Cyprus (0.16% of the population). For more data on the situation on the Roma in this country, please see the overview published by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights.

National Roma integration strategy

Cyprus’ National Roma Integration Strategy is not a strategy as such, but rather an integrated set of policy measures within Cyprus’s social inclusion policies. In view of the small size of its Roma population, the Cypriot approach is to promote integration through existing structures targeting vulnerable groups. The strategy includes two housing projects for Cypriot Roma.

Assessment of Cyprus’s strategy implementation

In 2014 the Commission adopted its assessment on the progress made in the implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategies in the four key areas of education, employment, healthcare and housing as well as in the fight against discrimination and the use of funding.

National contact point

The national contact point for the national Roma integration strategy is social welfare service (the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare).

Contact person: Ms Marina Efthymiadou – mefthymiadou@sws.dmsw.gov.cy