Thematic Guidance Fiche: Roma and Marginalised Communities (Thematic objective 9 - Social Inclusion and Poverty)

The term Roma (used as an umbrella term similarly to political documents of the European Parliament and the European Council) refers to a number of different groups of people who have more or less similar cultural characteristics whether sedentary or not (Roma, Sinti, Kale, Romanichels, Boyash, Ashkali, Egyptians, Yenish, Travellers, Dom, Lom, etc.) identified as such by the Council of Europe, by representatives of the aforementioned Roma groups in Europe and various international organisations (OSCE-ODIHR, European Commission, UNHCR and others).

Since 2010 the European Commission has continuously kept Roma integration high on the political agenda. The Commission put into place a comprehensive set of legal, policy and financial measures, to ensure that the fundamental rights of all EU citizens, including Roma, are effectively promoted and protected. The Commission first and foremost focuses on the effective implementation of these measures.