Pathways to Progress? The European Union and Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkans

This report analyses activities of the European Union targeting Roma within the framework of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) in the countries of the Western Balkans that are either candidate countries (Croatia and Macedonia) or potential candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia).

The main purposes of this report are:

• to provide stakeholders (national governments, the European Commission, Roma, international organisations, donors, etc.) with an analysis of the activities of the European Union within the framework of IPA that aim to improve the situation of Roma in the Western Balkans;

• to propose a comprehensive and sustainable long-term approach for addressing the situation of Roma within the framework of pre-accession assistance to the countries of the Western Balkans.

A summary of the situation of Roma communities in the Western Balkans precedes the analysis section of the report. The analysis is followed by policy recommendations to assist stakeholders in improving their Roma-related activities in the Western Balkans.

The report is based on a desk review of the available documents determining and regulating co-operation between the European Union and individual countries. There are additional financial instruments from which Roma in the Western Balkans could benefit (e.g., EIDHR and Community Programmes). However, documents related to these instruments were not analysed.

Further, the report focuses on the policy-planning process and does not include analysis of documents such as terms of references for individual projects and project implementation reports.