The aim of the study is to inform the work of European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE Committee) future work on improving the situation of Roma minority across the EU and combating anti-Gypsyism. First objective is to evaluate the successes and challenges of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, the way it has been implemented at national level. Second objective is to explore how to up-scale EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies after 2020. Namely, the study will examine the feasibility of EU Truth and Reconciliation process, the potential of linking this process with proposed EU Rule of Law mechanism, involving new approaches and actors in combating anti-gypsyism.

One of the key challenges of the EU Framework for NRIS lies at its very premises or foundations. It addresses the situation of Roma as an ‘integration’ challenge to be tackled via socio-economic policies, and not as historically-rooted ‘antigypsyism’ to be tackled via Rule of Law and transitional justice measures. In this context, civic and political participation of Roma is an important condition for developing and securing ‘ownership’ of transitional justice and the ‘organic character’ of a potential truth and reconciliation cycle on antigypsyism in the EU. The role of the BPI was to conduct interviews with key-policy makers and representatives of civil society organizations and prepare the report on Slovak case.