Attendees at the SOCIEUX+ information session, co-hosted by Europe House and the EU Office in Kosovo*.
The Europe House in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo*, hosted an information session for potential partners of SOCIEUX+ within the framework of the Facility’s extension of cooperation activities into the Western Balkans. The event, co-hosted by the Office of the European Union (EU) to Kosovo, took place on 13 December 2022. The session was attended by about 20 representatives of public institutions, including government ministries, public employment offices, centres for social work, and social partners (trade unions and employer organisations).
The Deputy Head of the EU in Kosovo, Annacarin Platon, gave the opening speech and highlighted the opportunities for peer-to-peer cooperation offered by SOCIEUX+ where, she said, “legislation covering issues such as labour, social inclusion and social protection is currently open for amendment. The SOCIEUX+ Facility can enable you to examine the experiences of EU member states and how they prepared and dealt with similar situations,” she added, encouraging attendees to “make full use of all EU mechanisms to pursue reforms in areas that bring real change to society.”
The SOCIEUX+ Facility was presented by Marzena Breza, Technical Advisor for Social Protection, and Thierry Fiquet, Technical Advisor for Labour and Employment, who presented specific examples of SOCIEUX+ activities in their respective areas and shared experiences of peer-to-peer technical cooperation between public staff and practitioners.
After the information session, several bilateral information exchange meetings were held with potential partners from the government, including: the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; the Office for Good Governance; the Agency for Gender Equality; the Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo; the Center for Social Work; the Kosovo Agency of Statistics; the National Agency for VET; the National Qualifications Authority; the Employment Agency of the Republic of Kosovo; and, the Labour Inspection Agency.
About SOCIEUX+
SOCIEUX+, the European Union Expertise on Social Protection, Labour and Employment Facility expands and improves access to better employment opportunities and inclusive social protection systems in EU Partner Countries through technical cooperation and knowledge development activities.
Based on the peer exchange model, SOCIEUX+ facilitates the exchange of knowledge and good practices between EU Member States and partner institutions around the world through targeted, short-term activities. Its specific objective is to enhance partner countries’ capacities to design, manage, and monitor inclusive, effective, and sustainable employment strategies and social protection systems.
SOCIEUX+ is co-funded by the European Union through the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA), the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), and the governments of Belgium, France, and Spain, and implemented by a partnership composed of Expertise France, Belgian International Cooperation on Social Protection (Belincosoc), the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel), and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).
For more information, visit:
SOCIEUX+ website
SOCIEUX+ Factsheet for Western Balkans
* 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.
