Press Conference on occasion of opening Chapter 19 – Social Policy and Employment

Podgorica, Montenegro (15 December 2016) -- Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Kemal Purišić opened the press-conference to mark the opening of the negotiation Chapter 19 – Social Policy and Employment.

Minister Purišić said that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has taken in the past a number of activities aimed at progress in the field of European integration and creation of preconditions for opening negotiations on Chapter 19 – Social Policy and Employment.

On this occasion, Minister Purišić informed the atendees about the legal and strategic solutions on which they will work in the coming period and pointed out that the chapter opening is just one single step towards the ultimate goal which is the negotiations closing. He also stated that negotiations are not only the fulfillment of the criteria and requirements of the European Commission, but is much more of challenge for us to strengthen the competitiveness and social cohesion, especially in the skills development on the educational level in order to create job opportunities for young people.

Chapter 19 is divided into eight sub-chapters: Labour Law, Safety and Health at Work, Social Dialogue, Employment Policy, The European Social Fund, Social Inclusion, Social Protection, Protection against Discrimination and Equal Opportunities.

Chapter 19 is open on Tuesday, 13 December 2016, at the Intergovernmental conference in Brussels.