The Minister for Labor and Social Policy Jagoda Shaphaska attended the online forum for the Western Balkans: Dialogue on a high level for the socio-economic impact of the pandemic upon the vulnerable Roma from Western Balkan and Turkey. The Co-organizers of the forum are the European Commission, World Bank, Council of Europe and UNDP, and was attended by representatives of these institutions and ministers from the countries from Western Balkan. Sahphaska as stated by the resource ministry, stated that the Government and the Ministry for Labor and Social Policy have a joint goal – equal society for all. All of the measures and each policy is created in the direction to enable an equal opportunity for all, with a special emphasis on the most vulnerable categories of citizens, such as the Roma, with a goal to gain equal opportunities for advancement and integration in the society.
- The Roma are part of all governmental measures which were brought on in order to pull through the crisis which is caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. More so, with the last fifth package of anti-crisis measures predict financial aid for Rome entrepreneurs through the creation of the “Matching Fund for Roma Entrepreneurship”. The value of this measure is 123 million Denars for 2021, and most of all it is intended for micro and small companies which are facing risks in their work. Also, the intention is that a huge part of this vulnerable category of citizens to receive financial help in order to formalize their act, said Shaphaska.
