Publications archive
29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on Albania
Albania has entered a new phase of convergence with the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), underpinned by steady economic growth, modernised labour legislation, and a comprehensive set of strategic reforms.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 2025 Review on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s performance in implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) provides a comprehensive and data-driven assessment of the Bosnia and Herzegovina social policy developments, institutional capacities, and progress towards EU alignment. Conducted in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s advancement to EU candidate status in December 2022, this Review is of strategic importance for evaluating the readiness of Bosnia and Herzegovina to engage in formal accession negotiations.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on Kosovo*
Kosovo* has made moderate, though uneven progress in aligning its policies and practices with the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). Since 2021, the government has adopted reforms in social protection, employment activation, and child and family support, while also piloting innovative schemes such as the Youth Guarantee Scheme. However, significant structural challenges persist, including high informality, under-resourced institutions, and limited data collection mechanisms.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on Montenegro
Montenegro has made notable, albeit uneven, progress in implementing the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), especially in the context of ongoing EU integration and reform efforts. Over the past two years, a number of strategic reforms have been launched, reflecting a stronger political commitment to align policies with EU social standards.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on North Macedonia
The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Review 2025 provides an in-depth evaluation of North Macedonia’s progress in aligning with the 20 principles of the Pillar. It reveals a mixed picture of social and labour market developments: sustained legislative activity and targeted reforms are gradually transforming key social systems, yet persistent structural barriers, especially related to youth employment, informality, education mismatches and social inclusion, continue to hinder full convergence with EU standards.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Review on Serbia
In relation to the European Union (EU) standards, Serbia performs below average or poorly in most of the reviewed principles and policies that are part of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). While a good part of this overall assessment logically follows from the fact that Serbia is, in terms of the level of economic development, poorer than any EU Member State, in some aspects the assessment is related
to policy choices – either from the relatively distant or more recent past, that are not conducive to the flourishing of social rights as envisaged in the EPSR.
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29 OCTOBER 2025|report
RCC ESAP 3: Performance of the Western Balkan Six Regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights – 2025 Regional Review
This 2025 review of the performance of the Western Balkan Six (WB6) regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) has been conducted by the Employment and Social Affairs Platform 3 (ESAP 3) project, jointly implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and funded by the European Union (EU). It builds upon assessments carried out in
previous years and includes updated information from 2023 to 2025.
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