Welcome to the workshop The Europeanization Of Social Policy in South East Europe: Responding to an Ageing Population which will be held on Monday, December 9, 2024 (09:00-12:30), at the Institute of Economics in Zagreb.

Trends in terms of an ageing population represent one of the key challenges for social protection systems, and labour markets and social policy more generally, in the countries of South East Europe. As the ratio of employed to pensioners increases, the financial sustainability of income tax-funded and insurance-based social protection systems are called into question. The adequacy of pensions for existing older people, and future generations; forms of financing for long-term care; and inequality in old age – based on gender, class, ethnicity, and citizenship status – are also fundamental questions. Against a prevailing orthodoxy of “active ageing” in which people are expected to retain some relationship to the formal labour market for much longer, the issue of the well-being of older people and their families is often given only secondary importance. In the context of very different national trends across the European Union and candidate countries, it is far from clear what role, if any, the European Union can or should play with regard to social policies and social innovation in the context of population ageing. In addition, there is a danger that, instead of looking holistically at social policy for an ageing society, the needs of children, the working age population, and older people are treated as if they were completely separate and competing demands on already stretched social protection budgets. Issues of how to prepare for an ageing society also pose stark questions about the role of the state, the family, and the local community in organising care and income maintenance, the role of transnational transfers and rights, and the impacts of new technologies.

In this workshop, social policy scholars and advocates from three countries: Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia, will bring their experiences of and insights into these questions, focusing on:

1. The key national challenges in terms of an ageing population
2. The degree to which the social protection system is fit for purpose in meeting these challenges
3. The impacts of new technologies and the importance of social innovation
4. The current and future role of the European Union and the relevance of regional lesson learning.

SCHEDULE

09:00 Registration

09:30 Welcome Speech, Ivana Rašić, Director, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb

09:40 Introduction and Chair, Danijel Nestić

09:50 Reflections on Ageing, Social Policy and Europeanization, Paul Stubbs

10:10 The Case of North Macedonia, Maja Gerovska Mitev

10:30 The Case of Serbia, Žarko Šunderić

10:50 The Case of Croatia, Siniša Zrinščak

11:10 – 12:30 Discussion

Whilst the working language of the workshop is English, parts of the discussion, including questions and answers, may be in Croatian.

Click here to download the Agenda (.pdf).

About the Workshop

The workshop forms one part of the TRADSTAR project ("Labour Markets and Well-being in the Context of an Ageing Population") undertaken by a team from the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Department for Labour Markets and Social Policy. The main goal of the project is to investigate contemporary trends in the labour market and their impact on various aspects of social well-being in the specific circumstances of population ageing and other demographic changes, and to analyse the role of economic and social policy in adapting to these circumstances.

For more information visit eizg.hr