04 April 2025 | REPORT

Improving social protection in the Western Balkans

Analysis of the regional/national situations, and recommendations : executive summary

This report evaluates the current status of social protection systems in the six Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), covering the four core instruments of social protection: social assistance; social services; active labour market policies (ALMPs); and social insurance schemes.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, Knowledge Hub on Health Inequalities and Social Protection to the European Commission (HISP), Hohmann, J., Giske, N. and Boillot, F., Improving social protection in the Western Balkans – Analysis of the regional/national situations, and recommendations – Executive summary, Publications Office of the European Union, 2025, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2876/6172488

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