SARAJEVO – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are launching tomorrow (29 June 2016) the “Employment and Social Affairs Platform” (ESAP) project at a one day Conference in Sarajevo. The ESAP project is supported by the European Commission’s Directorate General (DG) for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.  

Goran Svilanoviċ, RCC Secretary General, Antonio Graziosi, Director of ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and CountryOffice for Central and Eastern Europe and Thomas Bender, Head of Unit at European Commission’s DG Employment will open the launch of ESAP. The conference will continue with a brief presentation of ESAP by VanjaIvoševiċ, RCC’s Senior Expert on Smart Growth and Cristina Mihes, Senior Specialist for Social Dialogue and Labour Law with the ILO.

The ministerial conference will bring together relevant government representatives from six economies of the Western Balkans and will include policy discussions on priority issues related to employment and labour markets in the region as well as two panel discussions – “Fostering youth employment - a main challenge and important opportunity for the future”, and “Better labour market governance - a shared responsibility”.

The “Employment and Social Affairs Platform” (ESAP), is a regional project financed by the European Commission to the tune of 3 million Euro and will be jointly implemented by RCC and ILO in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The project aims to strengthen regional cooperation and institutional capacities of national administrations, employers’ and workers’ organisations, enabling them to develop and effectively implement labour market and social policy reforms in their EU enlargement process.

Journalists are invited to take part at the Conference launch on Wednesday, 29 June 2016, starting at 9.30, at the ‘Banja Luka’ meeting room of the Bristol Hotel, Fra FilipaLastrica 2, Sarajevo. After the formal opening part of the Conference there will be a 30 minute dedicated opportunity for press statements and interviews from 10.30 – 11.00. Please find a detailed agenda attached. We kindly ask media representatives to arrive 30 minutes prior to the official start of the Conference in order to finalize all technical preparations in time.

ESAP Background note

Meeting agenda

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.