The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 is an unprecedented political commitment by European governments to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of Roma. The Decade is an international initiative that brings together governments, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as Romani civil society, to accelerate progress toward improving the welfare of Roma and to review such progress in a transparent and quantifiable way. The Decade focuses on the priority areas of education, employment, health, and housing, and commits governments to take into account the other core issues of poverty, discrimination, and gender mainstreaming.

The idea of the Decade emerged from "Roma in an Expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future," a high-level regional conference on Roma held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2003. Prime Ministers of the first eight participating governments signed the Declaration of the Decade of Roma Inclusion in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 2, 2005.

The twelve countries currently taking part in the Decade are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain. All of these countries have significant Roma minorities, and the Roma minority has been rather disadvantaged, both economically and socially. Each of these countries has developed a national Decade Action Plan that specifies the goals and indicators in the priority areas. A thirteenth country, Slovenia, has observer status.
 
The founding international partner organizations of the Decade are the World Bank, the Open Society Foundations, the United Nations Development Program, the Council of Europe, Council of Europe Development Bank, the Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Roma Information Office, the European Roma and Traveller Forum, and the European Roma Rights Centre. In 2008, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also became partners in the Decade.

The Decade of Roma Inclusion is not another new institution, bureaucracy, or fund. Participating governments must reallocate resources to achieve results, also aligning  their plans with funding instruments of multinational, international, and bilateral donors.

As a central pillar of the Decade,  a Roma Education Fund (REF) was established in 2005 to expand educational opportunities for Roma communities in Central and Southeastern Europe. The goal of REF is to contribute to closing the gap in educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma, through policies and programs including desegregation of educational systems. REF receives funds from governments, multilateral organizations and private sources. It finances projects that are designed to meet its goals and which are proposed and implemented by governments, NGOs and private organizations. It administers the largest university scholarship program for Roma and supports research, studies and evaluations that contribute to effective policies for Roma inclusion in  national education systems.

 

  

 

The vision and values statement [1] of the Decade of Inclusion places great emphasis on Roma participation:

 

 

Planning for the Decade is guided by an International Steering Committee (ISC), made up of representatives of participating governments, Roma organizations, international donors, and other international organizations. In late 2006, the ISC agreed upon the establishment of a Decade Secretariat in Budapest, Hungary, which will directly support the Presidency of the Decade. Serbia currently holds the Decade Presidency, which rotates annually according to the following schedule:

 

 

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 [1] Annex 3 of the Summary of the 3rd ISC Meeting, June 24-25, 2004