Of 400,000 newly employed in Western Balkans, as many as 300,000 in Serbia

Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Goran Svilanovic, stated on June 28, 2017, in Dubrovnik that the countries of the Western Balkans had achieved the biggest progress in employment and added that 400,000 people had been employed in the region up till that point, of which the majority in Serbia.

Svilanovic said at the press conference following the adoption of the annual report on the implementation of the Southeast Europe 2020 strategy that the countries of the Western Balkans had progressed in meeting the strategy's goals to various extents.

The report states that Serbia is the leading country in the region looking by employments and the number of highly educated people coming to the labor market, that the degree of attracting direct foreign investments in satisfactory, but that the perception of the efficiency of the government is low, Svilanovic said.

Svilanovic emphasized that the progress made in fulfilling the goals of the strategy varied from country to country. The unevenness of the progress is best shown through the number of 400,000 jobs, of which 300,000 were realized in Serbia, whereas the rest was realized in the other five countries.

According to him, of the 11 goals adopted by the ministers of economy of the countries of the region in 2013, two have been fulfilled – the trade balance and the number of highly educated young people coming to the labor market.

– The numbers that can be presented as the region's average, such a six economies in the accession process, are one thing. Some of those goals were achieved on the level of the region, but if you look at your country, the results achieved are not evenly distributed – Svilanovic said.

He pointed out that some of the numbers were very high, but that they were, in fact, tied to one or two countries.

One of the goals the fulfillment of which can realistically be expected by 2020 is an increase in the number of employees, he said.

Svilanovic said that the region was on the right track regarding the goal of usage of renewable energy, but that this was down to the richness of the water resources in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and that it was not the case in Serbia, which was not even close to fulfilling the goal.

As for the goal of attracting foreign investments, the most progress has been made in Montenegro, followed by Serbia and Macedonia, whereas investments in other countries are stagnating, Svilanovic said.

Looking at the World Bank's measurement of the perception of government efficiency in the countries of the region, the goal is close to being achieved.

The goal regarding the trade within the region of the Western Balkans is not even close to being completed.

– This is an indication of an overall drop in trade in the global market due to the crisis. The trade has dropped in general, including the region. The data are not encouraging. The trade within the region is not sufficiently intensified – said Secretary General of RCC.

As he said, the question of foreign direct investments is also problematic and only a third of the goal for 2020 has been achieved in that field.

Svilanovic co-presided over the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) together with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejcinovic Buric on June 29.

The Process was initiated in 1996, aiming to transform southeast Europe into a region of stability, safety and cooperation, in line with European integration trends, through improving mutual dialogue and cooperation.

The members of the SEECP are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.

Svetska Banka-WB Beograd

Regional Cooperation Council

RCC

SEECP

Goran Svilanovic

employment

Southeast Europe 2020

Southeast Europe 2020 strategy

Serbia employment

labor market

renewable energy

foreign investments

attracting foreign investments

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia

Marija Pejcinovic Buric