At the initiative of Northern Macedonia, the Declaration of the Western Balkan countries for the integration of Roma in the process of EU enlargement will be adopted at the Poznan Summit
One of the documents to be adopted at the annual Western Balkans Summit, which takes place today and tomorrow in Poznan, the Republic of Poland, will be the Declaration of the Western Balkan countries for the integration of Roma within the EU enlargement process.
The declaration, proposed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia on 17 May 2018, initiated a regional commitment to the integration of Roma as part of the EU enlargement process, and will be signed at the Forum of leaders from the countries of the Western Balkans, on Friday, 5 July.
The initiative for this declaration, with the strong support of the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council, sets out ambitious, but realistic goals for Roma integration that the countries of the region should achieve before joining the EU.
The Declaration also covers the basic principles necessary for achieving the set goals, including internal coordination, budget allocation, monitoring and reporting, participation of Roma, and sets out the basic principles for achieving the strategic goal of the National Strategy for Roma 2014-2020:
Reducing the gap between the Roma and non-Roma communities, strengthening the process of monitoring the implementation of public policies and activities of the Governments in the region, thus contributing to the improvement of the situation of the Roma.
The Minister without Portfolio in charge of the implementation of the Strategy for Roma in the Government of RSM, Musafar Bajram is also a National Contact Point for Roma for coordination of action plans for implementation of the provisions of the Declaration of the Western Balkan Countries for the Integration of Roma within the Enlargement Process EU, which will be adopted at the Poznan Summit.
