This policy brief examines child poverty trends and the expansion of social protection programs in Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EESPN team informs you on the BB activities and the EESPN blog on the Georgian Miners’ strike in the June issue of the EESPN newsletter.
At the 5th BBinar on 13 June 2023 about 40 stakeholders came together to discuss what role the social investment approach to social welfare policies can and should play in supporting sustainable development in the Western Balkan and the Eastern Partnership countries.
In this policy brief, the team explores challenges and barriers persons with disabilities face to full social inclusion and propose policy options to address them through investment in and better access to (vocational) education, public funding of personal assistance, and improved data collection for evidence-based policy making.
As part of an ongoing cooperation between the European Centre and the Central European University Vienna (CEU), four students from the Policy Lab support the Bridge Building work of the European Centre by preparing country profiles for Albania, Montenegro, Moldova and Georgia for the EESPN website.
The North Macedonian Ministry and the European Centre hosted the online peer review “Deinstitutionalisation of children and persons with disabilities” in February 2023.
The Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection enabled the European Centre to extend the BB Peer Reviews and Trainings project in the Bridge Building countries until March 2024.
Bridge Building connects the knowledge and policy evidence on social welfare of the EU Member States with the Bridging Building (BB) countries.
The European Centre is currently updating the six reviews of the Western Balkan countries regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR).