9th BBinar: Labour Migration in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries
The ninth BBinar will take place on 6 February 2025 from 10:00 – 11:30 CET and will focus on discussing how high emigration rates from the Western Balkans, particularly among young and skilled workers, combined with the other unfavourable demographic trends, have turned the region with once characterised with abundance of available workforce into a region facing significant labour shortages. The issue is particularly pronounced in some of the key sectors such as healthcare, IT, and manufacturing, limiting the growth of these sectors. In response, countries in the region have started to redesign their immigration policies aimed at easing the employment of foreigners. The questions of expected effectiveness of such policies and implementation of related policies that will assure protection of migrant workers’ rights and full utilisation of their skills remain to be answered. The BBinar aims to focus on (1) the key trends and motivations of migration from the Western Balkans, (2) its impact on labour markets and the policies of adjustment, and the (3) various measures undertaken by countries in the region to address migration driven labour shortages.
Agenda:
10:00 – 10:10: Introductory input (Welcome)
- Sonila Danaj, Lead of Employment and Labour Mobility research team, European Centre (Austria)
10:10 – 10:25: Input presentation from
- Nermin Oruč, PhD, Director of Research at the Centre for Development Evaluation and Social Science Research (CREDI) (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
10:25 – 10:55: Comments to the presentation from
- Bresena Kopliku PHD, Lecturer, University of Shkodra (Albania)
- Tibor Meszmann, PHD, Project Coordinator, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI) (Slovakia)
10:55 – 11:30: Q&A and discussion with audience
Moderator: Sonila Danaj, European Centre (Austria)
If you have any questions, please contact Sabina Gjylsheni (gjylsheni@euro.centre.org).
Register here.
