engleski

Adjustment of the social system of Bosnia & Herzegovina to the EU Social Policy

The European social policy, as a result of the ongoing integration process in Europe, is set to expand to the South-Eastern European area. Besides Croatia, which recently finished negotiations for EU membership, adjustments of social systems are going on in all Western Balkan countries as well as in Turkey. Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) has a lot to catch up, especially because of its difficult political and economic situation. The 1990s war, its consequences like deindustrialization, poverty, social exclusion and huge unemployment (27.2% in 2010, as well as thousands of refugees overburdened the social system of B&H. More than 1.7 million beneficiaries are included in social security schemes, which is more than a half of its total population. However, social security is not yet accessible to all who need assistance, especially in rural areas. Besides that, social policies are conducted on entity and/or regional levels. GDP per capita in B&H (PPS ; 2010) amounted for 3, 258 EUR, which equals just 30% of the EU average. Lagging behind the EU is also emphasized with the problem of a high poverty rate. Accordingly, major problems related to social issues in B&H are: 1. High unemployment – but also high inactivity rate, “bad jobs” and high frequency of unreported labour 2. High rate of population with lower levels of education 3. Exclusion and discrimination on ethnic or gender grounds, as well as discrimination of former refugees 4. Inadequate social security system with a low range and coverage.

social system ; Bosnia and Herzegovina ; EU Social Policy

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