Active Labout Market Policies with an Impact Potential on Roma Employment in Five Countries of the EU

The working paper focuses on the labor market policies in five European countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Spain - aiming at the labor market integration of Roma and other vulnerable groups. The, most important actors of those labor market policies that directly or indirectly target unemployed Roma, and the context of their policy implementation are discussed. Special attention is paid to mainstreaming and to ethnically targeted policies, their effectiveness, and the policy environment. The paper provides an overview of the varieties of programs addressing Roma, highlights certain practices and demonstrates that, there is no single ’best’ way to reach out to Roma.