Background report about the Roma in Romania

The Embassy of Finland in Romania has drafted a Background Report about the Roma in Romania (attached) and about the challenges in different areas of life they encounter in integrating the society. Finland has participated actively in the informal Roma working group of the embassies so the Report was drafted also in English for local partners to be able to make use of it.

Moreover, the Report describes the Romanian national and EU political framework on advancing the social inclusion of the Roma, and gives an overview on the Roma policies of the Council of Europe and other intergovernmental organizations.

There are estimated up to 1.5 to 2 million Roma in Romania. Compared to the majority population, the Roma are disadvantaged in accessing education, employment, health care and housing.

Romania has adopted the National Roma Integration Strategy for 2012–2020 and established various governmental structures for advancing the Roma inclusion but these have not yet yielded desired results. Lack of political will is seen as one major shortcoming.Background report