Exchange of experience to enhance PES services in BiH



Following the Commission’s positive recommendation, on 21 March 2024 the European Council gave the green light to Bosnia and Herzegovina to open accession negotiations with the EU.  However, these negotiations are conditional on further progress in the reforms stated in the Commission’s recommendation.  To that effect, strengthening of public employment services in BiH plays a major role. 

For this reason, a delegation of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, consisting of Ivan Barbalić, Director, Samir Zuko, Assistant Director and Sanela Mešanović, Specialist, attended on 21-23 May 2024 a series of meetings with representatives of various international institutions and organisations in Brussels.  The delegation met with the liaison officer of the European Labour Authority (ELA), the vice-president of the European Economic and Social Council (EESC), officers at the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) responsible for BiH and the Director of the Office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to the EU.  The representatives of the Agency also met with the Executive Secretariat staff of the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) to discuss the ongoing and future activities of WAPES, its Managing Board (of which Director Barbalić is a member) and the Communication Strategy Group (of which Sanela Mešanović is a member).  At the WAPES office in Brussels, the delegation also had meetings with the EURES national coordinator at the German Federal Employment Agency and Mr. Michael Van der Cammen, Director of International Relations at the German Federal Employment Agency and discussed further enhancement of cooperation between the two state-level employment agencies.  

Director Barbalić and the delegation members also met with the Head of BiH Mission to EU, the Ambassador Obrad Kesić.  After the exchange of information on relevant activities, they confirmed their mutual commitment to cooperation and joint work in future activities in the interest of the labour market in BiH on the path to EU membership. 

In all meeting, information was exchanged about the initiatives and activities of the above institutions on the one hand and the Agency and public employment services in BiH on the other.  Representatives of all institutions welcomed the ongoing activities of the Labour and Employment Agency of BiH and all public employment services in BiH and promised their support in the future ones which is important for further development of services and improvement of the labour market situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina on its path to EU membership.