Comparative Analysis on the Contribution of the EU Pre-Accession Funds to Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia in the Sector of Social Inclusion for the Period 2007-2013

Abstract

Since the dispersion of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the European Union (EU) has been providing financial assistance to the Western Balkans countries through various pre-accession programmes with various objectives. From January 2007 onwards, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) replaced all EU's financial instruments for candidate and potential candidate countries. One of the main strategic priorities of the assistance under the IPA is to reinforce social inclusion, with a view to their sustainable integration of people at a disadvantage in the labour market. The least populous candidate countries for the EU membership in Western Balkans countries, Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro have been facing high unemployment rates and the large scale migration of vulnerable groups after the dispersion of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This thesis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the resource allocations to the sector of social inclusion in the Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro under the IPA in achieving the priorities identified by the Operational Programmes for Human Resources Development for the Republic of Macedonia for the period 2007-2013 and for Montenegro for the period 2012-2013. The results indicate that limited progress has been made on social inclusion in both countries and social inclusion strategies still need to be addressed.