site.bta2023 Monitoring Report on Implementation of National Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation Approved

The National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues (NCCEII) with the Council of Ministers on Thursday approved a monitoring report on the implementation in 2023 of Bulgaria's National Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation (2021-2030) and last year's municipal action plans. The NCCEII meeting was presided over by the Council's Chair, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova.

One step towards a successful Roma inclusion and integration, taken in 2023, was the regulatory setting of targeted funding for the appointment of educational mediators, social workers and assistant teachers, the report said. Another such step, a Health Ministry ordinance was amended to increase the number of precautionary examinations for women not covered by health insurance. 

In 2023, the State financed for the first time measures to support pupils in Bulgarian expat communities, including Roma, who continued their studies back home after spending time at educational establishments abroad. Extra pay was allocated for teachers working with such children. Additional classes in Bulgarian were introduced in pre-school groups with a substantial number of children of ethnicity other than Bulgarian. Support was provided for additional synchronous remote learning. 

By the beginning of the 2023-2024, however, the proportion of children enrolled in the educational system edged down to 94.16% from 94.72% a year earlier.

The Roma population's still limited access to health services remains a challenge. The reason for this is a combination of poverty and unemployment with a low health culture and a high percentage of people without health insurance. Volunteers and Bulgarian Red Cross staff shared in addressing this issue in 2023. Together with the regional health inspectorates, the local authorities and the health mediators, they spread awareness of the benefits of hygiene and vaccines, including to hard-to-reach communities and locations.

The large share of unskilled and low-educated Roma (89.3%) has a serious adverse impact on those communities' employability. Nevertheless, municipalities view the economically inactive persons, including Roma, as a potential pool of labour power and apply ever more targeted efforts for their sustained integration into the labour market. They are helped in this by the Roma labour mediators and NGOs.  
 
A total of 4,443 Roma were included in vocational guidance groups. In accordance with a recommendation of a Council of the European Union, more than 27,400 people aged under 29 were included in various forms of employment, of whom 3,500-plus were Roma. Over 12,500 Roma were hired on the primary labor market last year. The State is making efforts for the prevention of and protection against racial- and ethnic-based discrimination and violence. In 2023 the National Institute of Justice organized training in these matters for more than 1,500 magistrates, lawyers and other staff of the judicial system and institutions concerned with this subject. Legal advice continues to be provided in small and outlying settlements.

The monitoring report, as approved by the NCCEII, will be adopted shortly by the Council of Ministers and will be sent to the National Assembly for reference.