Publication: Supporting the Effective Reintegration of Roma Returnees in the Western Balkans
Date
2019-06-13
ISSN
Published
2019-06-13
Author(s)
World Bank Group
Abstract
The European Commission’s Directorate
General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations
approached the World Bank to develop an evidence base and to
deliver policy advice and technical assistance for
supporting the effective reintegration of (Roma) returnees
in the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo,
and Serbia. This synthesis report presents the results of
that research. This report documents the main socio-economic
factors that drive migration from the Western Balkans to the
EU. Returnees emphasize that they migrate to escape poverty,
lack of housing, unemployment, the lack of or insufficient
access to social security, and a consistent struggle and
inability to provide a basic standard of living for
themselves and their families. Poverty, discrimination, and
historic marginalization reinforce one another and
constitute strong push factors. Estimates suggest a
substantial number of returnees belong to the Roma minority
and that Roma are over-represented in migration and returnee
flows. In addition, Roma and ethnic minorities have had to
contend with systemic economic and social exclusion and
institutional discrimination. Roma communities lack access
to basic infrastructure and social services, are more likely
to be underemployed, and have limited earning potential due
to low incomes from unskilled jobs in the formal and
informal sectors.
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2019. Supporting the Effective Reintegration of Roma Returnees in the Western Balkans; Supporting the Effective Reintegration of Roma Returnees in the Western Balkans. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/32020 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”