EU Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner Laszlo Andor is meeting with mayors from cities in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in Brussels to take stock of progress and lessons learned in the integration of members of the Roma community at the local level, in particular with the support of ROMACT – a joint program of the European Commission and Council of Europe. The meeting began on Thursday and is continuing today.

“Roma inclusion can only be achieved through national efforts combined with action at a local level,” said Mr. Andor. “This is why the EU supports local authorities in designing and implementing Roma integration projects and in applying for EU funding, through programmes such as ROMACT.”

The conference on Roma inclusion and the ROMACT experience gives mayors an opportunity to explain how they promote inclusion of Roma and how ROMACT supports their efforts to overcome inequalities between Roma and non-Roma citizens in their municipalities.

The event brings together more than 400 participants from over 30 countries. It also includes the participation of elected representatives of Roma communities.

For more information and for live streaming of the conference, CLICK HERE.