With jobless rates as much as 44 percent in BiH and 45 percent in Kosovo*, unemployment is one of the greatest challenges facing Western Balkans. In most countries, unemployment has structural roots: the institutional setup of the labour market, labour cost factors and the unfinished transition process. Poor employment figures also pose serious risks to the countries’ political stability.
Having these facts in mind, the European Union has supported local efforts, funding institutional reforms and supporting economic development in order to increase employment in the Balkans.
The Sarajevo conference is part of the European Parliament’s support programme for the parliaments of the Enlargement countries.
Main topics will include
- Structural Reforms – Bottlenecks, priorities and perspectives for Foreign Direct Investment
- Sound foundations: Achieving public sector reform while reducing employment impact
- Convergence towards EU standards in fiscal and taxation policies
- Challenges and solutions for encouraging job creation in the Balkans
- The experience of new EU Member states in catching up and implementing the country-specific reports
- The Parliaments’ role in fostering and supporting convergence towards EU standards
- Transparency, economic reform and public interest
Mr Jean-Éric Paquet, Director for Western Balkans, European Commission and Mr Goran Svilanović, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council will deliver keynote speeches.
Besides the Members of European Parliament Theodor Dumitru STOLOJAN (Romania), Dubravka ŠUICA (Croatia), Mady DELVAUX (Luxembourg), Javi LÓPEZ (Spain), Amjad BASHIR (UK) and Gerolf ANNEMANS (Belgium), MPs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are to come for an exchange of views and best practices with MEPs, academics and representatives of the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council.
The event is open to the public, civil society organisations and the media.
The event will be hosted by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on 15 – 16 October 2015.
Registration requests must be addressed to
(Press) Mr Zlatko Vukmirović press@parlament.ba +387 33 28 44 47
(NGOs and public) Mr Ernest Imamović ernest.imamovic@parlament.ba +387 33 28 60 12
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