The current EU Roma Framework runs out this year – but despite almost a decade of policy activity, not much improvement has materialised.
Roma
The lack of a consistent definition raises the question if European Roma policy is doomed to failure, as its target is not clearly defined.
The EU’s direct involvement with policy specifically directed towards Roma was a response to change political conditions arising from eastward enlargement.
By imagining Roma as a distinct and coherent transnational ethnic minority and policy object, the EU at risk of becoming the stepmother country of an orphan people.