As part of Montenegro’s Presidency of the Berlin Process, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue of Montenegro, Naida Nišić, will visit Berlin to attend the Ministerial Conference “Western Balkans Conference: Advancing Employment and Social Policy Together”, organized in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Minister Nišić, together with German Federal Minister Bärbel Bas, will deliver opening remarks at the Conference. During the panel titled “Identifying Common Solutions: Social Dialogue as a Driver of Sustainable Economic Development”, she will discuss the reforms Montenegro is implementing in the areas of social dialogue, collective bargaining, and alignment with European standards.
The conference will bring together the six ministers responsible for labour and employment from the Western Balkan countries, high-level representatives of the European Commission, international organizations, social partners, and experts, making Berlin the central venue for regional dialogue on the future of labour markets, social policy, and the European integration of the region.
The Conference is particularly significant because, after several years, labour ministers from the region are once again meeting in this format, sending a strong message of unity, stability, and the region’s readiness to jointly develop, through the Berlin Process, concrete solutions to labour market and social policy challenges.
The working agenda of the event includes improving active labour market policies, protecting labour rights, occupational safety and health, strengthening social dialogue, enhancing cooperation among labour inspectorates, as well as exchanging experiences and best practices among the countries of the region, in line with European Union standards.
As the Chair of the Berlin Process, Montenegro reaffirms its strong commitment to regional cooperation, European reforms, and the creation of a shared space of stability, development, and social security. Under Montenegro’s Presidency, the first Joint Employment and Social Policy Action Plan for the Western Balkan countries will be officially presented and endorsed. This document represents one of the most important regional policy frameworks in the field of labour and social dialogue within the Berlin Process and was drafted jointly by all six participating countries with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
During its Presidency of the Berlin Process, Montenegro will continue to promote dialogue, regional connectivity, and European values, with a clear ambition to turn reform processes into concrete results for the citizens of the Western Balkans.