News Archive

Participants of the ESAP 2 hybrid event Western Balkans 4 Decent Working and Living, Skopje, 27-28 April 2023 (Photo: RCC ESAP2/Stefan Bozarov)

Moderate progress of the Western Balkan economies regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights
04 May 2023

(Sarajevo/Skopje) - The Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presented the 2022 edition of individual economy and regional overview reports on performance of the Western Balkan (WB) economies regarding the European Pillar of Social ...

Marking European Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022 (Photo: RCC)

Looking at Social Ability to Provide Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
24 Nov 2022

Sarajevo – In the Western Balkans economies “most of the progress was registered in the areas of inclusion of children with disabilities, especially in the process of deinstitutionalisation of children with disability, inclusive education and support services offered at the community ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at the WB-EU ministerial meeting, organised within the Berlin Process by the German Government in Berlin on 21 October 2022

All-inclusive regional cooperation and Common Regional Market deliver results
21 Oct 2022

Berlin/Sarajevo – The Western Balkans (WB) Foreign Ministers approved three regional agreements - on Freedom of Movement with Identity Cards, on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, and on Recognition of Professional Qualifications for Doctors of Medicine, Dentists and Architects ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu giving opening remarks at the presentation of Balkan Barometer and SecuriMeter 2022 results, on 24 June 2022 in Brussels (Photo: RCC/Laure Geerts)

Bregu: Support of Western Balkan citizens to regional cooperation remains stable at 76%
24 Jun 2022

Brussels – “While many things change, our public and business perceptions surveys remain a truthful source of sentiments across the region. At times, the results surprise us, sometimes they serve as a wake-up call, while on other occasions they confirm that our efforts are not in ...

Team Leader of RCC's Western Balkans Youth Lab (WBYL) Ognjen Markovic at the Final Conference on Youth Policy Lab on Youth Unemployment, in Budva on 14 June 2022 (Photo: RCC/Danilo Papic)

RCC Youth Lab Project hosts the final conference on youth employment in the Western Balkans
14 Jun 2022

Budva/Sarajevo – “Inadequate employment opportunities are one of the biggest problem young people face. One in 3 young persons are unemployed, which means the Western Balkans youth unemployment rate is almost double the EU rate of 17%. According to Balkan Barometer 2022 – ...

14th RCC Annual Meeting took place in Thessaloniki, Greece on 9 June 2022 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)

Bregu: As long as we continue to subscribe to dialogue, compromise and cooperation, we invest in long-term stability, security and prosperity
09 Jun 2022

Thessaloniki – “Under the political guidance of SEECP and in consultations with all relevant actors and stakeholders, RCC identified those gaps in which the region should invest with technical as well as political capital. These all fall under the category of sustainable development, ...

Annual meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council to take place on 9 June 2022 in Thessaloniki (Design: RCC/Sejla Dizdarevic)

Champion of Regional Cooperation to round off 14th RCC Annual Meeting
08 Jun 2022

Sarajevo/Thessaloniki – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to hold its 14th Annual Meeting on Thursday, 9 June in Thessaloniki. RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu will present the RCC Annual Report and major accomplishments and results of the organisation in the past year while putting ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at the opening of the ministerial conference on “Lifting Barriers for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Western Balkans”, in Tirana on 12 May 2022 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)

Bregu: Removing barriers is the first step in positioning Western Balkans at the world tourism map 
12 May 2022

Tirana – “Tourism has a vast potential as a major catalyst for job creation and a driving force for economic growth and development especially for tourism dependent regions like ours. In 2019 more than 12 million people visited Western Balkans, which brought us a profit of 7.2 billion ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at the 44th RCC Board Meeting held on 15 October 2021 (Photo: RCC/Ani Media)


15 Oct 2021

Sarajevo – “European perspective of Western Balkans is the drive that makes the process of cooperation beneficial to all in long-term. It is of highest importance that both the region and the EU deliver on the respective commitments – particularly when we take into account ...

Participants of the ESAP 2 hybrid event Employment and Social Affairs, Tirana, 12-13 2021 (Photo: RCC ESAP2/Ani Media)

RCC’s ESAP 2 project gathered its partners and beneficiaries at a 2-day hybrid event to discuss employment and social affairs
13 Oct 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – Western Balkans’ Social Scoreboard, and individual and regional overview reports on performance of the Western Balkan economies regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights, prepared by Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project of the Regional ...

Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at the launch of Balkan Barometer 2021 in Tirana on 24 June 2021 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)

Bregu: Balkan Barometer reveals human uncertainty and vulnerability are main concerns followed by some goodish news on benefits of regional cooperation
24 Jun 2021

Tirana – “This, seventh in a row, Balkan Barometer shows human uncertainty and vulnerability are the main concerns followed by some goodish news which is the consciousness about the benefits of regional cooperation. For 49% of Western Balkan citizens, unemployment is the biggest ...

Balkan Barometer 2021 to be presented in Tirana on 24 June 2021 (Design: RCC/Samir Dedic)

RCC to Present Balkan Barometer 2021 - Public and Business Viewpoints on Situation in our Region
22 Jun 2021

Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the 2021 edition of Balkan Barometer on Thursday, 24 June 2021, starting at 10:00, in Tirana. This is the 7th edition of annual public and business opinion survey commissioned by the RCC which examines Western Balkan citizens ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey at the SEECP Summit held in Antalya on 17 June 2021 (Photo: RCC/Murat Yilmiz)

Bregu: Voice, concerns, hopes & expectations of the people from the region are core of the RCC work
17 Jun 2021

Antalya – Leaders of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) approved the RCC-developed strategy for socio-economic development of South East Europe (SEE) in the next decade – SEE2030 Strategy, at their Summit held in Antalya, Turkey today. 

13th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council took place on 16 June 2021 in Antalya, Turkey (Photo: RCC/Murat Yilmaz)


16 Jun 2021

Antalya – “Last year, ruled by the pandemic has definitely showcased the extent of our interconnectivity and interdependency and demonstrated that in cooperating, we boost our strengths and resilience. It is clear that regional socio-economic integration is crucial for regional ...

ESAP 2: Webinar “Data Matters!” (Design: Samir Dedic)


11 Jun 2021

Sarajevo/Online – “In 2019, the average employment rate in the Western Balkans (WB) grew to a historically high level, with new jobs being created throughout the region. New job creation by in large came to a halt in 2020 due to the effects of the coronavirus.  Despite overall ...

RCC’s ESAP Project presented Study on Youth Employment in the Western Balkans on an online Give Youth a Chance” conference held on 31 Mat 2021 (Design: RCC/Samir Dedic)

Bregu: With regional youth unemployment rate at 35.1% the need to act is clear, as youth is our most precious asset
31 May 2021

Sarajevo/Online – “Youth and jobs has not been a good combination in the Western Balkans for some time. The average regional youth unemployment rate in 2020 was 35.1%, which is more than double the European Union (EU) rate of 16.9%.  Some of it can be blamed on the COVID 19 ...

Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at the 43rd RCC Board Meeting held online on 19 May 2021 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)

Bregu: Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever
19 May 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana–“Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever. Establishing a Common Regional Market which will attract investors, support real added value of industries, promote innovation, ensure digitalization and bring the ...

“Improving Social Partner Involvement in Tackling Undeclared Work” in the Western Balkans, webinar held on 19 April 2021 (Photo: RCC/ESAP2)

Greater engagement of social partners in tackling undeclared work in the Western Balkans is much needed, authorities and social partners agree
19 Apr 2021

Sarajevo – “The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project aims to support regional cooperation among the Western Balkan (WB) economies in transforming undeclared work into declared work, pursuing a holistic integrated strategic ...

Third Plenary meeting of the Western Balkan Network Tackling Undeclared Work held online under the RCC's ESAP 2 project, 16 April 2021 (Photo: RCC/ESAP2)

Balance between prevention and deterrence one of key elements for successful, structured approach to formalizing undeclared work
16 Apr 2021

Sarajevo – “COVID 19 pandemic introduced many new challenges to labour markets globally and in Western Balkans, as this region has low activity and employment rates on one hand and high rates of informal work on the other. Current times are very challenging and the pandemic is impacting ...

Kick off the first Thematic Regional Youth Policy Lab tackling youth unemployment taking place on 14 December 2020 (Visual: RCC/Samir Dedic)

Bregu: Instead of creating policies FOR youth we believe in co-creating policies WITH youth
14 Dec 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Brussels - “Youth makes 21% of Western Balkans population. If we know that youth unemployment in the Western Balkans is over 35%; that it takes around 2 years for a young person to land the job after the school; that 25% of youth are not in employment, education and training; ...

RCC's Secretary General Majlinda Bregu speaking at the Connectivity Forum (TCF)’s Panel ‘Winners and Losers of Covid-19 in South-East Europe’, in Tirana on 1 October 2020

Economic integration among the Western Balkans 6, and with the EU, is the most important in this moment
01 Oct 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – “I believe that closer relations in the process of European integration of the region, especially economic integration among the Western Balkans (WB) 6, and with the EU, are the most important in this moment. Because regional economic integration of the WB is not ...

1st meeting of the Western Balkans’s Network Tackling Undeclared Work took place online on 30 September 2020


30 Sep 2020

Sarajevo – “Informal economy is a chronic problem of many economies, Western Balkans’ in particular, as estimates show that up to 30% of the employed persons in the region work undeclared. Today’s meeting is about to explore ways on how all institutions in charge of ...

RCC’s Western Balkans Youth Lab and Employment and Social Affairs Platform Projects organized webinar tackling youth unemployment in the region on 3 July 2020 (Photo: RCC/Ratka Babic)


03 Jul 2020

RCC’s Western Balkans Youth Lab and Employment and Social Affairs Platform Projects organized webinar tackling policymaking and youth unemployment in the region Sarajevo – “Numerous stories of unemployed young people across the region who want the leave in pursuit of a job and better ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu with Head of the Office of the Secretary General Elda Kalaja preparing for the RCC Annual Meeting on 25 June 2020 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)


25 Jun 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo/Prishtina – The two meetings have been held today within the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) - the meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the RCC Annual Meeting, which RCC co-organised with the outgoing Kosovo SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office ...

Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Majlinda Bregu presenting the findings of Balkan Barometer 2020 on a webinar held on 24 June 2020 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)


24 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “The regional cooperation continues to grow in prominence with an overwhelming majority of citizens supportive of its role in improving the political, economic and security situation in their home economies - 77%, and 65% of them believes that what brings WB citizens ...

Launch of Balkan Barometer 2020 to take place on 24 June 2020 (Illistration: RCC/Sejla Dizdarevic)


23 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will present 2020 edition of Balkan Barometer on Wednesday 24 June 2020. This annual public and business opinion survey of the RCC examines the perception and expectations on life and work, prevalent socio-economic and political trends & ...

Plenary meeting with Western Balkans officials from key institutions tackling undeclared work took place on 12 June 2020 in online format (Photo: RCC/Klicker Production)


12 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “The global pandemic caused by the COVID 19 virus has had a profound impact on businesses and workers, as well as economies across the Western Balkans. The undeclared workers, however, have been disproportionately affected since they generally work in low productivity jobs ...

RCC Board met for the 40th time in a row and for the first time online due physical distancing requirements, on 14 May 2020


14 May 2020

Sarajevo – “For all its aggressiveness, the COVID-19 crisis also offers glimmers of hope. It has connected Western Balkans even more, this time in a fight against an invisible enemy. It has persuaded us that cooperation should be resilient. It has created a common awareness that ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu speaking at the online Western Balkans Zagreb Summit on 6 May 2020


06 May 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Zagreb - Now, almost 4 years after we initiated the work on Regional Economic Area (REA) the region is ready to embark on the next phase of deepening regional economic cooperation assure the WB6 economies to have ownership first, and bringing the region closer to the EU internal ...

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (Illustration: Shutterstock)


19 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – Ivana Todorovska is a smart hard-working young woman, a student of Analytical Biochemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje. Ivana’s message to all of us, young women and girls in particular, is that although it is very hard to become a scientist, ...

WE: Marta Naumovska Grnarova, Skopje


08 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – “We are in the 3rd decade of 21st century and yet the tales of successful business women are not frequent but rather breaking news. In the Western Balkans even more so as only 1 in 5 women owns a business. And not only that – employment rate of women in the region in 2018 was ...

Secretary General Majlinda Bregu speaking at the Regional Conference “Employment - Shades of Grey in the Western Balkans: Regional Perspectives on Creating More and Better Jobs”, marking beginning of the Phase two of the RCC’s Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project - ESAP 2, in Sarajevo on 28 January 2020 (Photo: RCC/Armin Durgut)


28 Jan 2020

Sarajevo – “More than 700 000 jobs have been added to the workforce during the past seven years and unemployment has moved for almost a quarter (23%) to around 16%, across the region. They say a tide lifts all boats, large and small. However, not everybody benefited from these economic and ...

Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Majlinda Bregu at the tourism grants award ceremony within the Tourism Development and Promotion Project, in Durres on 22 November 2019 (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)


22 Nov 2019

Durres – “Today, with presenting the results of the completed 12 and awarding 16 new grants for the tourism development and promotion in the Western Balkans, we are showing you a part of the success story from this region, and it is not a success of policy-making or GDP but of the people. ...

Fetije Nikiqi welcoming her guests from Germany at her B&B along Via Dinarica hiking trail which runs across the Western Balkans (Photo: RCC/Klicker)


07 Nov 2019

It is 11 o’clock on an idle Monday and about to start raining in a tiny village of Rekë e Allagës in Rugova Mountain, all green with pine trees. Fetije Nikiqi is well under way to prepare cheese pie in a wooden stove while Hozefa Indorewala looks to the sky from the porch thinking just how ...

RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu with the team at the consultative meeting with UNDP in Istanbul, 5 November 2019 (Photo: Courtesy of UNDP)


05 Nov 2019

Istanbul – “The women unemployment in the Western Balkans is 60%. Analyses show a big mismatch in the labour market(s) between the demands and offered sets of skills and knowledge. Almost half of the students in the region enrol into the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business study ...

Maja Handziska Trendafilova, Head RCC's Programme Department, opening the regional workshop on undeclared work in the Western Balkans, in Sarajevo on 15 October 2019 (Photo: RCC/Armin Durgut)


15 Oct 2019

Sarajevo – “Informal employment is work that is legal in itself but not declared to the authorities for tax, social security and/or labour law purposes. As such, it plays an important role in all Western Balkan economies, as widespread informality deprives governments of potential tax revenue, ...

Majlinda Bregu opening the first RCC Annual Meeting in a capacity of organization's Secretary General, in Sarajevo on 8 July 2019 (Photo: RCC/Armin Durgut)


08 Jul 2019

Sarajevo – „A year behind us was a dynamic one and we are prepared to continue just as dynamic in the next one. We, at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) are ready and keen to embark on any challenges ahead of us but we cannot do it without the full support of our regional and European ...

RCC Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel at the Western Balkans Leaders’ Summit in Poznan, Poland, 5 July 2019 (Photo: Courtesy of German Government)


05 Jul 2019

  Poznan – “Two years after the Western Balkans’ (WB) Prime Ministers endorsed the Multi-annual Action Plan for the Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) in Trieste the region has not fully embraced the opportunities offered by the Regional Economic Area. Flows of goods, services, ...

RCC Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu addressed Western Balkans’ Economy Ministers at the Ministerial Panel on Regional Economic Area at the WB Summit in Poznan, Poland, 4 July 2019 (Photo: RCC/Erik Witsoe)


04 Jul 2019

Poznan – “Two years since the endorsement of Multi-annual Action plan on Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) in Trieste and one year since London our region can show only a mixed track record at best. Western Balkans (WB) did not fully embrace Regional Economic Area (REA) and as a result ...

Regional Cooperation Council presents Balkan Barometer 2019 findings at Western Balkans Summit in Poznan, 4 July 2019 (Photo: RCC/Erik Witsoe)


04 Jul 2019

Poznan – “There's no better way to stress the need for stepping up the regional cooperation than quoting the citizens and businesses of the Western Balkans (WB) who overwhelmingly, with 74% and 67% respectively, believe in regional cooperation. The recent success with dropping of roaming ...

Economic growth goes hand in hand with human capital development – investment in education must increase (Photo: Matej Kastelic on Shutterstock)


14 Jun 2019

Luxemburg – “Years in a row our opinion survey Balkan Barometer shows that unemployment is the biggest concern for 67% of the citizens in the Western Balkans (WB), and our alarms should have already gone off, triggering adequate reactions. This region has talent everywhere but their skills ...

Western Balkans needs to address the widespread phenomenon of informal employment through holistic approach - is one of the conclusions of workshops tackling this issue (Photo: Shutterstock)


26 Apr 2019

Sarajevo – “Share of informal/undeclared employment in the region varies from 18,1% in Republic of North Macedonia to 33% in Montenegro1 ,”said Nand Shani, Team Leader of the Regional Cooperation (RCC)’s Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP). Tackling this widespread ...

SEE 2020 Strategy’s Coordination Board met for 11th time in Sarajevo on 21 March 2019 (Photo:RCC/Alma Arslanagic-Pozder)


21 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Coordination Board of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe’s growth Strategy (SEE 2020) has met in Sarajevo today, to reflect on the implementation results, identify potential action synergies for further cooperation as well as post-2020 regional priorities ...

Nada Markovic, the founder of the first female cooperative that started with 3 women, now has more than 300, Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Photo: RCC/Alma Arslanagic Pozder)


08 Mar 2019

Sarajevo - Instead of happy 8th of March, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is introducing the idea of the “WE”, starting with Nada Markovic, a pioneer of the first female cooperative in Bosnia and Hercegovina. 

Representatives of the Western Balkan Public Employment Services (PES) and Ministries of Labour (MoL) visited a company that participated in the on-the job-training programme, in Tirana, 18 January 2019 (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


18 Jan 2019

Western Balkans’ Public Employment Services and Labour Ministries peers review on-the-job training programmes and practices Tirana – Representatives of Public Employment Services (PES) and Ministries of Labour from the Western Balkans economies gathered in Tirana for a 2-day regional ...

Participants of a regional conference on innovative approaches to employment of Roma, jointly organized by the RCC's projects Roma Integration 2020 and Employment and Social Affairs Platform, and Roma Education Fund, on 10 December 2018 in Budapest. (Photo: RCC/Alma Arslanagic-Pozder)


10 Dec 2018

Budapest - Regional conference on innovative approaches to employment of Roma, jointly organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s projects Roma Integration 2020 and Employment and Social Affairs Platform (EASP), and Roma Education Fund (REF) started in Budapest today. 

Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Mila Carovska (in the middle), Biljana Jovanovska, Director of PES and Nand Shani, Team Leader of the ESAP project giving statements to media, Skopje, 26 November 2018 (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


27 Nov 2018

Skopje – A two-day a regional peer review workshop focusing on internship programmes ended in Skopje today. The Workshop was organised by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project. 

RCC’s ESAP project supported a visit of the Albanian delegation from Ministry of Economy and Finance to Skopje to meet with Ministries of Labour and Social Policy, Education, Finance and Secretariat for European Affairs on 29 October 2018. (Photo: RCC ESAP/Sanda Topic)


29 Oct 2018

Skopje – Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) supported the visit of the Albanian delegation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance to Skopje today.

Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the 3rd meeting of Coordinators of Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAP) on Regional Economic Area (REA) in Western Balkan Six (WB6), in Brussels on 9 October 2018 (Illustration: pixabay.com)


09 Oct 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the 3rd meeting of Coordinators of Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAP) on Regional Economic Area (REA) in Western Balkan Six (WB6), discussing the implementation results, next milestones, the most pressing challenges and reiterating commitments, ...

Participants of the 1st Meeting of the Lead Negotiators on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, in Brussels on 8 October 2018 (Photo: RCC/Nadja Greku)


08 Oct 2018

Brussels – The Western Balkans began the negotiations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications of doctors of medicine, dentists, architects and civil engineers at the 1st meeting of Lead Negotiators convened by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in Brussels today. 

Regional Peer Review Workshop on Local Employment Partnerships, in a field visit to Tesanj municipality, 4 October 2018 (Photo: RCC ESAP/Sanda Topic)


05 Oct 2018

Sarajevo/Tesanj/Prnjavor - Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) organised a regional 3-day Workshop on Local Employment Partnerships, which started in Sarajevo and continued with field visits to municipalities of Tesanj and ...

ESAP helps Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Pristina to develop its monitoring framework


31 Jul 2018

Pristina – In the period April-July 2018, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) through its Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP) helped the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Kosovo* to develop the strategy monitoring tools and increase their capacity to plan ...

Study visit organised by RCC’s ESAP: Albanian Public Employment Service visiting their colleagues in Prishtina (Photo: courtesy of Employment Agency in Prishtina)


12 Jul 2018

Pristina – Upon request of the representatives of the Albanian Public Employment Service (PES), the Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project, within its technical assistance facility, took the Albanian PES on a study visit to their PES ...

Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presents findings of 2018 edition of the Balkan Barometer (BB) in Brussels on 6 July 2018 (Photo: RCC/Jerome Hubert)


06 Jul 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) revealed results of 2018 edition of the Balkan Barometer (BB), an annual survey of citizens and business communities’ opinion on the situation in the region, in Brussels today. The main findings of the survey show that satisfaction of ...

Participants of the 5th Annual meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe 2020 Strategy (SEE 2020) Governing Board, held in Brussels on 5 July 2018 (Photo: RCC/Jerome Hubert)


05 Jul 2018

Brussels – Governing Board of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe 2020 Strategy (SEE 2020) endorsed the 2018 Annual Report on Strategy’s implementation (ARI), at its fifth meeting held in Brussels today, in the eve of the presentation of the RCC’s Balkan barometer ...

5th Meeting of the SEE2020 Governing Board


03 Jul 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the implementation results of the region’s growth strategy, South East Europe 2020 (SEE2020) on 5 July 2018 in Brussels, and day after, on 6 July also in Brussels, the RCC will reveal the results of its 4th edition of the public ...

RCC Secretary General at the 7th Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platforms on Education and Training & Research and Innovation, Brussels on 26 June 2018 (Photo: RCC/Ivana Petricevic)


26 Jun 2018

Brussels – Ministers in charge of education from the Western Balkan economies endorsed a set of key principles on automatic recognition of academic qualifications in the region at the 7th Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platforms on Education and Training & Research and Innovation, ...

Regional Cooperation Council' s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Project presented employment and labour market trends and developments in the Western Balkans, in Brussels, 20 June 2018. (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


20 Jun 2018

Brussels – Regional Cooperation Council' s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Project presented in Brussels today employment and labour market trends and developments in the Western Balkans (WB). The policy discussion gathered representatives of WB Ministries of Labour and ...

Coordination meeting with representatives of Western Balkan Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services within Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project’s framework, in Brussels on 19 June 2018 (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


19 Jun 2018

Brussels - Representatives of the Western Balkans (WB) Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services (PES) met in Brussels today, within the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP), to discuss main trends and ...

RCC’s ESAP and Western Balkans’ Public Employment Services present their joint work at Annual Meeting of the EU PES Network in Sofia, 8 June 2018 (Photo: RCC/Vanja Ivosevic)


08 Jun 2018

Sofia – Western Balkan’s Public Employment Services (PES) gathered around Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Project were, for the first time ever, invited to participate as observers in a 9th Annual Meeting of the European Union’s  ...

Regional peer-review workshop on youth employment, organised by the RCC’s Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) in Herceg Novi, 30-31 May 2018 (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


31 May 2018

Herceg Novi – Representatives of the Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services (PES) offices from the Western Balkan (WB) economies together with relevant regional and international experts in the field, shared experiences and discussed youth employment programmes at the regional peer-review ...

Monitoring Committee of RCC’s SEE 2020 Strategy meets to discuss and provide comments on the Strategy’s early draft Annual Implementation Report (ARI) in Podgorica, 18 May 2018 (Photo: RCC/Nadja Greku)


18 May 2018

Podgorica - Monitoring Committee of the South East Europe 2020 (SEE 2020) Strategy met for the 6th time, under auspice of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in Podgorica today, to discuss and provide comments on the Strategy’s early draft Annual Implementation Report (ARI).

RCC Secretary General Goran Svilanovic speaking at the EU-Western Balkans Summit hosted by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in Sofia on 17 May 2018. (Photo: Vesselin Valkanov)


17 May 2018

Sofia – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Goran Svilanovic, took part at the EU-Western Balkans Summit hosted by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in Sofia today. The Summit is dedicated to strengthen links between the EU and the Western Balkans in ...

RCC’s ESAP helps Employment Agency in Pristina in drafting their Rules of Procedure (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


30 Apr 2018

Pristina – During a two months period at the beginning of 2018, the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP) provided expert support in drafting the rules of procedure of the Advisory Board of the newly established Employment Agency ...

RCC’s ESAP help Montenegro Employment Agency in upgrading their Information Technology System (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


23 Apr 2018

Podgorica – The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP)provided technical assistance to the Employment Agency of Montenegro in upgrading the Information Technology System in accordance with the European Employment Service (EURES) requirements.

Regional Workshop on Employment of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in the Western Balkans (WB), in Belgrade on 19-20 April 2018 (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


20 Apr 2018

Belgrade – The Regional Workshop on Employment of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in the Western Balkans (WB), which was held in Belgrade on 19-20 April 2018, was organised jointly in the framework of two regional projects: Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs ...

Visit to a successful food processing beneficiary of self-employment programme during the peer-review Workshop on self-employment programmes in Pristina, 12 April 2018 (Photo: RCC/Nadja Greku)


12 Apr 2018

Prishtina – Representatives of Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services (PES) from the Western Balkans discussed self-employment programmes at a two-day regional workshop within the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform ...

SEE 2020 Strategy Programming Committee endorsed the Programming Document 2018-2020 at its 6th Meeting, held in Brussels, on 12 March 2018 (Photo: RCC/Nedima Hadziibrisevic)


12 Mar 2018

Brussels – Representatives of the South East Europe’s (SEE) economies participating in implementation SEE 2020 Strategy endorsed the Programming Document for the period 2018-2020, at the 6th Meeting of the SEE 2020 Programming Committee held in Brussels, under auspices of the Regional ...

Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP), http://www.esap.online/ (Photo: RCC)


21 Feb 2018

Although the Western Balkans region suffered the dramatic employment fall in the period following the global economic crisis 2008-2011, “the situation recovered over the subsequent five years and by 2016 total employment had again reached 6.5 million, representing an increase of 8.9%”, ...

Vocational Training Centres analyse their legal framework with RCC’s ESAP assistance (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


30 Jan 2018

Pristina – Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP) project provided technical assistance to Vocational Training Centres in Kosovo* in analysing their current legal framework and the documents related to vocational training, and proposed ...

RCC's ESAP assists Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Pristina to establish an integrated information system (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


29 Dec 2017

Pristina – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), through its Employment and Social Affairs Project (ESAP), provided a support upon request of Kosovo* on establishing an integrated information system in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. ESAP analysed the current systems ...

The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretary General Goran Svilanovic (to the left) and newly appointed Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF) Cesare Onestini (to the right) signed an agreement on continuation of cooperation between the two organisations, in Brussels on 22 November 2017 (Photo: RCC/Ivana Petricevic)


22 Nov 2017

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretary General, Goran Svilanovic, and newly appointed Director of the European Training Foundation (ETF), Cesare Onestini, signed an agreement on continuation of cooperation between the two organisations, in Brussels today.

ESAP works with Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs and the Public Employment Services of the six Western Balkan economies.


01 Nov 2017

A series of 12 workshops, two per each of the Western Balkans six economies, on Public Employment Services (PES) benchlearning, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employments and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP), kicked-off in Pristina today.

Participants of the first Meeting of MAP Coordinators, held in Brussels on 31 October 2017. (Photo: RCC/Jerome Hubert)


31 Oct 2017

Brussels - Following the Trieste Western Balkans (WB) Summit and the endorsement of the RCC’s Multi Action Plan (MAP) for a Regional Economic Area (REA) in the WB6, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum (CIF), organized the first Meeting of ...

The 1st assessors training on benchlearning for representatives of Public Employment Services (PES) from the Western Balkans, organized by the RCC’s ESAP project was held in Belgrade on 14 September 2017 (Photo: RCC ESAP/Sanda Topic)


14 Sep 2017

Belgrade - The first ever assessors training on benchlearning for representatives of Public Employment Services (PES) from the Western Balkans, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council’ (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Regional Platform (ESAP) project, was held  in Belgrade today. 

Meeting of representatives of Western Balkan Public Employment Services on qualitative benchmarking, Tivat, Montenegro, 18 July 2017 (Photo: RCC/ESAP/Sanda Topic)


18 Jul 2017

Tivat - Representatives of Western Balkan Public Employment Services (PES) met in Tivat today to discuss qualitative benchmarking, in the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) regional project.

Photo: www.esteri.it


12 Jul 2017

Trieste - The leaders of Western Balkans Six (WB6) endorsed the Multi-annual Action Plan on a Regional Economic Area in the Western Balkans (MAP), at the summit in Trieste today. The MAP has been created to enable unobstructed flow of goods, services, capital and highly skilled ...

Regional public employment services work together to improve measures leading to reduction of unemployment at ESAP-organised meeting in Skopje on 21 June 2017 (Photo: RCC ESAP/Sanda Topic)


21 Jun 2017

Skopje – Labour market statistics officials from the Public Employment Services (PES) of the Western Balkan economies agreed upon a set of quantitative indicators that are to be collected for the PES benchmarking analysis, at the meeting in Skopje today, organized under auspices of joint ...

RCC's ESAP Project assists Montenegro in preparing the new Labour Law (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


10 May 2017

Kolasin – Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP) of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) supported the Montenegrin Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare by providing technical input and assistance to a national workshop on preparing the new Labour Law.

Skopje: ESAP co-organises National Consultative Meeting on the Employment and Social Reform Programme (Photo: https://jooinn.com/)


21 Feb 2017

Skopje – The Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) provided support to a National Consultative Meeting on the Employment and Social Reform Programme, held in February 2017 in Skopje. 

Representatives of public employment services from Western Balkans meet for the first time under the RCC’s Employment and Social Affairs Platform project, in Belgrade, on 27 October 2017. (Photo: RCC/Sanda Topic)


27 Oct 2016

Belgrade/Sarajevo – Representatives of public employment services (PES) of the Western Balkan economies agreed on concrete steps and actions envisaging future cooperation under the Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project  at their first  meeting that took place ...

ILO and RCC launch ESAP Project, for better labour market governance in the Western Balkans, on 29 June in Sarajevo. (Photo: RCC/Ratka Babic)

ILO and RCC launch project for better labour market governance in the Western Balkans
29 Jun 2016

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) will work together to further regional cooperation in order to achieve more effective labour market governance in the Western Balkans. The new joint project, funded by the European Union, ...

RCC and ILO will jointly create a Western Balkans Platform on Employment and Social Affairs in the framework of a new European Commission funded project signed in Brussels on 1 March 2016. (Photo: RCC/Mimika Loshi)

Three million euro for boosting jobs in the Western Balkans
01 Mar 2016

Brussels - The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will jointly create a Western Balkans Platform on Employment and Social Affairs in the framework of a new European Commission funded project signed today in Brussels.