Opportunities and actions for improving the living conditions of Roma: Lessons from Bulgaria

1. DEYAN KOLEVCENTER AMALIPE, BULGARIA Opportunities and actions for improving the living conditions of Roma: Lessons from Bulgaria -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Improving Access to Housing for Roma Prague, February 3-4, 2011

2. Improving Roma living conditions: the empty field Improving living conditions of Roma is the weakest field within the Decade of Roma Inclusion in Bulgaria: limited financial resources invested, insufficient expertise by the side of institutions and Roma NGOs, no consistent successful model The first big initiative – “Building 284 houses and infrastructure in Plovdiv”, financed by a loan from Council of Europe Development Bank - failed:only 84 houses were built, expensive price, the needs of the Roma families were not taken into consideration. The second stage of the project was stopped in Plovdiv and moved in four other municipalities. It was not implemented since the state budget in 2010 did not provide the necessary co-financingCertain initiatives managed by municipalities and NGOs had positive results but they were limited in scale and scope: for example in Kuystendil, Hristo Botev Neighborhood in Sofia and so on. Their impact was limited because of the narrowness of the intervention (only houses without employment and education) and limited scale. They did not establish sustainable model

3. National Program for Improving the Living Conditions of Roma • In 2006 Bulgarian government approved National Program for Improving the Living Conditions of Roma: it had Action Plan and envisaged 646 154 000 euro for 10 years • The implementation of the National Program in 2006 – 2009 was insufficient: limited financial resources invested by the state budget (131,282 euro in 2006, 5 128 205 euro in 2007, 5128 205 euro in 2008 and 5 972 820 euro in 2009), no participation of Roma community in the process. Mainly some small-scale infrastructure renovation activities were implemented without housing and without links with employment and education • In 2010 the National Program was not implemented

4. Regional Development OP • Regional Development OP contains paragraphs that target Roma in its analytical part. At the same time it does not contain any Roma targeted measures in its strategic part (among priority axesея and areas of intervention) • Area of intervention 1.2. “Housing policy” contains the opportunity for using ERDF for housing of minority groups: “providing modern social houses for vulnerable, minority and other excluded groups through renovation of existing buildings” • No call is announced within 1.2. Area until now

5. Pilot model ?!? • Pilot model is necessary: within this program period pilot model/s for successful multisectoral intervention in the Roma neighborhoods is necessary • Improving infrastructure, housing, education and employment could be integral parts of this model • Participation of Roma community is obligatory requirement for the model success: design and implementation • The model should be tested in city, town and village within the present planning period • The model could combine resources from RDOP and HRDOP: like the model for deinstitutionalization applied at present • Such intervention is planning in Bulgaria now: the Minister of European funds Tomislav Donchev formed working group and it is expected this operation to start in mid-2011

6. Conclusions • RDOP and HRDOP for the next planning period should contain Roma inclusion targeted measures: this is a guarantee that European funds will reach Roma • RDOP and HRDOP for the next planning period should provide a space for multi-sectoral interventions in Roma neighborhoods: combining employment, education, infrastructure and housing could make a difference

7. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION! Deyan Kolev Center Amalipe, Bulgaria Deyan_kolev@yahoo.com, www.amalipe.com