On 15th of January, 2020, the European Fund for the Balkans signed a Cooperation Agreement with and Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund and  Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dialogue Southeast Europe  in Belgrade. As partners we obliged to continue and deepen our collaboration on social policy development and raising awareness in that field.

The Social Dimension Initiative will continue to reinforce the importance of discussing the social dimension of EU enlargement policy as well as national policy reforms throughout the region. The coalition for support aims to coordinate the activities and to continuously exchange information in order to develop evidence-based policy recommendations.

The latest contribution to the Social Dimension Initiative is the series of infographics and a publication related to the social dimension of EU Enlargement, which were produced by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dialogue Southeast Europe.

The countries of the Western Balkans (WB) are facing enormous social challenges, including poverty and inequality, widespread joblessness, and precarious employment, as well as a poor quality of crucial services. EU integration should not only be about institutional and economic transformation, but also social convergence. To effect social change, further paradigmatic shift is needed in enlargement policy: people need to be placed at the heart of the process.

 This document provides recommendations on how to achieve such a shift.

Social Rights are Fundamental: Expanding the Social Dimension of Enlargement – Download document