TAIEX Workshop Held on the Coordination of Social Security Systems for Unemployment Benefits

Ivan Barbalić, Director of the Labour and Employment Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened today a two-day workshop in Sarajevo on the coordination of social security systems, focusing in particular on the rights of unemployed persons and access to unemployment benefits.

The workshop, organised with the support of the European Commission through the TAIEX instrument, brought together representatives of relevant institutions to exchange knowledge and experiences on ensuring the rights of unemployed persons.

Special emphasis was on the coordination of social security systems in the European Union and the applications of Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 which provide an important framework for exercising social security rights in situations where a person's employment, residence or insurance is connected to multiple countries. The special focus was on the unemployed, for whom financial compensation often provides crucial support between jobs, as well as the basis for accessing other social security rights.

Participants had the opportunity to examine practical cases concerning entitlement to unemployment benefits, including situations where a person resides in one country while working in another, as well as the recognition and aggregation of insurance periods.

These topics were discussed by Emilija Salopek from the Croatian Employment Service, while Magda Zupančić from the Slovenian Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Family and Equal Opportunities presented the basic principles of the social security system coordination and Slovenia's experiences in this field.

Particular attention was also devoted to the protection of personal data of the unemployed, the exchange of information between EU Member State institutions, and the application of the standards set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this context, the workshop also covered the implementation of the EESSI (Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information) system, which facilitates the electronic exchange of information between EU Member State institutions in the field of social security.

Th exchange of such experience is of particular value for Bosnia and Herzegovina given the need to further align domestic systems with European standards.   The aim is to ensure that institutions are well prepared to facilitate the effective exercise of citizens’ rights, particularly for those who find themselves in vulnerable circumstances following the loss of employment.  For this reason, improving procedures, exchanging data and experiences, and better understanding European rules are not merely administrative tasks - they have a direct impact on protecting the rights and security of job seekers.