Roma in Europe’s Housing and Energy Agenda

Time: 22 April 2026 | 15:00–17:30
Venue: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Rue Van Maerlant 2, 1040 Bruxelles. Room: VMA22
The event will also be live-streamed here: https://live.eesc.europa.eu/play/?id=799

Co-organised by ERGO Network, UN-Habitat and FEANTSA

External participation costs are not covered by the organisers.
Please note that participation may be subject to seat availability. We will confirm your place once your registration has been reviewed.

IMPORTANT:
Those who only registered for the Roma Housing event and need to pick up their entry badge (sticker), please arrive between 14:30 and 14:45 at the VMA building, located at Rue Van Maerlant/Van Maerlantstraat 2, 1040 Brussels, accessible via Rue Belliard, opposite the EESC entrance at Belliard 99.

If you are also attending the morning or lunch events, you do not need to re-register. The event venue/room remains the same throughout the day.

Context:

Across Europe, Roma communities continue to face severe and persistent housing exclusion. According to the most recent data by the Fundamental Rights Agency, over 80% of Roma live in overcrowded households, and around 22% lack access to running water in their homes. Many Roma households also struggle to afford basic utilities such as electricity and heating, given high levels of energy poverty and material deprivation. These conditions are not isolated cases, but the result of structural poverty, segregation, and antigypsyism.

At a time when the EU is shaping major initiatives such as the Affordable Housing Plan, the Affordable Energy Action Plan, and national Building Renovation and Social Climate Plans, it is crucial to ensure that these frameworks explicitly address the needs of the most marginalised communities. Affordable housing interventions must recognise that market-based solutions alone will not reach the poorest households, and that strong, well-funded social housing systems are essential, alongside desegregation initiatives. Energy transition policies must also confront the reality that sustainable energy access is not only a climate issue, but a question of social justice and equal access to services.

Bringing this debate forward, UN-Habitat, FEANTSA, and ERGO Network are joining forces at Roma Week 2026 to explore sustainable, affordable, rights-based housing and energy solutions for Roma communities. The event will provide a platform to discuss barriers to accessing housing, utilities and sustainable energy; to examine how EU funds and other financing mechanisms can better support inclusive housing investments; and to look at positive practices of sustainable energy in Roma communities.

Participants will reflect on how to ensure that Roma are fully included in Europe’s main housing and energy frameworks, how funding streams can be more effectively mobilised, and how policies can move beyond short-term projects towards long-term, structural solutions.

Agenda:

Moderator: Amana Ferro, Senior Policy Adviser at ERGO Network

15:00 | Opening Remarks

Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat
Hon Maria Ohisalo MEP, Special Committee on the Housing Crisis

15:20 | Affordable Housing for Roma – From Promises to Funding

Dyfed Aubrey, Head of the Office for the European Union, UN-Habitat
Florin Botonogu, Director of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities / ERGO Network
Matthew Baldwin, Head of the Housing Task Force in the European Commission
Daniela Mormile, Roma and Antidiscrimination Unit, DG JUST, European Commission
Daniela Aydin, Project Officer at the Council of Europe Development Bank

16:15 | Exchange with the Audience

16:30 | Sustainable Energy Solutions for Roma Communities

Anna Bajomi, Energy Poverty Officer at FEANTSA
Károly Búza, Co-founder and President of the Lightbringers Foundation, Hungary
Mihály Orsós, Lightbringers Foundation, Hungary

17:10 | Closing

Ms Ivona Batali, National Roma Contact Point, Ministry of Investments and European Projects, Romania
Hon Benedetta Scuderi MEP, Committees on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE)

17:30 | End