The Union of Municipalities of Montenegro will continue to provide support to municipalities through training, information-sharing, and networking, so that European funds can be used as efficiently as possible for the development of local communities and the improvement of citizens’ quality of life, it was announced during the working meeting of the Thematic Network for Social Protection, Demography, and Family Care, established within the project “Municipalities for the EU – Empowering Local Communities in Montenegro’s EU Integration Process.”
At the meeting held under the organization of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, discussions focused on the opportunities offered by the EU operational programme “Employment and Social Inclusion 2024–2027,” through which more than €31.6 million has been made available to Montenegro for improving employment, social inclusion, and strengthening institutional capacities. A significant part of these funds is also intended for local self-governments.
Team leader proj
ect “Municipalities for the EU” Branka Mračević she pointed out that their task is to enable local self-governments to recognize and make use of the opportunities offered by the European Social Fund as an important instrument for improving the quality of citizens’ lives.
Head of the project “Improved Evidence-Based Policy-Making, Implementation of Practices and Coordination in the Employment and Social Policy Sectors, and Strengthened Capacities for Participation in the European Social Fund” Vanja Hazl she assessed that the European Social Fund, as the EU’s main instrument for investing in people, is becoming increasingly important, and that its share in the Union’s budget has increased from around one to almost ten percent.
Head of the Directorate for Coordinating the Work of Social Work Centres in the Ministry of Social Protection, Demography, and Family Care Maja Bahović she spoke about amendments to the legal framework aimed at linking social security and employment. She stated that, in the future, beneficiaries of financial social assistance will retain the right to this benefit for up to 12 months after being employed through the Employment Agency, in order to protect them from a sudden loss of social security.
On behalf of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, the participants of the meeting were welcomed by… Ivana Nedović, the Secretary of the Committee for Social Affairs, emphasizing that municipalities are the place where European policies are transformed into concrete changes in the lives of citizens.
This fund represents an opportunity for municipalities to respond to the challenges of unemployment, youth outmigration, and social exclusion through professional training programmes, support for entrepreneurship, and the improvement of local social services,” Nedović said, emphasizing the importance of partnerships between municipalities, institutions, the civil sector, and the economy.
She added that it is necessary to invest systematically in the training of staff in municipalities who will prepare and implement projects financed from the European Social Fund.
During the discussion, participants exchanged views on the challenges faced by local self-governments and the possibilities for developing programmes on employment, the social economy, support for young people and vulnerable groups, as well as new community-based services through European funds.
