This report concerns the Danish approach to Roma inclusion within the four thematic areas of employment, housing, education and health in response to the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020. Denmark’s National Roma Integration Strategy is a set of integrated policy measures that do not include Roma-targeted initiatives, but rather states that Roma are included within general integration initiatives. Consequently, there are no specific initiatives or specific funding opportunities for Roma at governmental or municipal level. Roma inclusion is not mainstreamed as a specific issue across the ministries and there are no Roma-targeted initiatives at governmental or municipal levels. For this reason, there are no specific efforts or initiatives for Roma within the areas of employment, housing, health and education.
Furthermore, since ethnic data is not collected in Denmark, there is no data available on the situation of the national Roma population within the four thematic areas. No studies or reports have previously been made to evaluate the access of the national Roma population to such services and measures. Consequently, neither qualitative nor quantitative data are available concerning the national Roma population. This report therefore highlights the more general context for ethnic minorities in Denmark as an inspiration for areas where more research is needed concerning Roma specifically. The main recommendation that arises from this report is therefore the need for a comprehensive qualitative study evaluating the access of the national Roma population to employment, housing, health and education. This study should be undertaken with the active involvement of researchers of Roma origin at its centre.
The sections concerning EU citizens of Romani origin are based on qualitative data collected by the author of this report in connection with her doctoral and post-doctoral research on a group of Romanian Roma women and men who live in homelessness in Denmark.