new policy paper on social and employment policy shaping in serbia

August 23, 2010 - The author Ivan Sekulovic in its new policy paper Acceding to the EU: Lessons Learnt in Slovakia as Guidelines for Employment and Social Policy Makers in Serbia focuses on the improvement of employment and social policy coordination in Serbia. He consider it as one of the important problems, or rather, challenges in the forthcoming phase of Serbia’s European integration.

The key objective of this analysis is to formulate concrete recommendations with the aim of solving this problem based on solutions implemented in Slovakia. Based on this problem analysis, and with a view to the above-mentioned obligations, certain weaknesses were identified in coordination between and within the actors which define and implement employment and social policy in Serbia, including the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, but also regarding the roles of institutions in charge of horizontal public policy coordination, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Most of the identified shortcomings involve the absence of information exchange and consultation. Relevant options are now being discussed to improve existing, or establish new, coordination mechanisms. Finally, the policy paper provides concrete recommendations for the improvement of horizontal and vertical coordination in the respective phases of Serbian employment and social policy cycles in the context of European integration.

The policy paper can be found here >>.

This policy paper has been prepared with the assistance of the Pontis Foundation and the Centre for Democracy and supported by the Slovak Aid through Slovak-Serbian EU Enlargement Fund. The aim of the fund is to provide direct support for Serbian domestic experts, journalists and researchers from the young generation  with the aim of rejuvenating and reviving the sector in its goal of disseminating arguments examining the benefits of EU membership for Serbia. The opinions presented in the paper are of the author exclusively, neither necessarily of the Pontis Foundation nor of those of the Center for Democracy and Slovak Aid.