April 8 was International Roma Day and many actors raised their concerns, see the Roma Virtual Network for a compilation of the statements made for the celebration of the day.

Mr Kjaerum, Director of Fundamental Rights Agency highlighted how "Discrimination perpetuates the vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion: exclusion from education leads to exclusion from employment. This creates increased poverty, which forces people to live in poor or segregated housing. This affects their educational and job opportunities, and health. And so the circle starts again...To break this circle, we need an integrated approach that promotes access to housing, employment, education and healthcare simultaneously."

Roma continue to face high levels of discrimination across the EU. They are also affected by anti-Roma hate crime and hate speech. A previous FRA survey highlighted, for instance, that 60% of Roma respondents had experienced ethnic discrimination when looking for work. On 30 April, the first results of new surveys by the FRA and UNDP and the World Bank will be published. This new report will provide robust and comparative data from 2011 on the socio-economic status of Roma alongside data on how they enjoy their rights in practice.