Meeting of the Working Group of the National Convention on the European Union for Chapters 2 and 19 Held
The Working Group of the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) for negotiating Chapters 2 (Free Movement of Workers) and 19 (Social Policy and Employment) held a meeting on 11 March 2026 from 10:00 to 13:30 at the NCEU Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by Nataša Vučković on behalf of the Center for Democracy Foundation (CDF), which also serves as the coordinator of this Working Group.
During the meeting, the state of reforms in the field of labour law was reviewed. The greatest attention was devoted to the procedure for amending the Labour Law. Representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs informed Convention members about the course of meetings at which possible ways of harmonizing the Labour Law with around twenty directives of the European Union are being considered. Members of the Working Group insisted on the necessity that the drafting of either a new Law or amendments and supplements to the Labour Law be carried out through a transparent process conducted within a working group formed through a public call, as is currently the practice with other public policy documents. In addition, members of the Working Group emphasized the necessity that amendments to the Labour Law should not be limited solely to harmonization with European regulations, but should also include issues that the professional public has for many years identified as insufficiently regulated and detrimental to the realization of labour rights.
The meeting also addressed the progress in the preparation of the draft Law on Strike and the Law on Work Placements, the EU Directive on Platform Work, preparations for the adoption of a new Employment Strategy (the current one expires in 2026), as well as the progress in the preparation of the Social Protection Strategy, the adoption of which has been delayed for years, together with amendments and supplements to the Law on Social Protection. NCEU Coordinator Bojana Selaković presented the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the Reform Agenda and the manner in which the NCEU participates in that mechanism. In addition, the Operational Programme for Employment, Skills and Social Inclusion implemented by the Ministry was presented at the meeting. The Coordinator of the Working Group emphasized that only some of the topics had been selected for this meeting and that it remains necessary to organize, in the near future, a meeting dedicated to Negotiating Chapter 2, as well as to issues of occupational health and safety and the introduction of the Youth Guarantee.
The Working Group consists of nearly fifty members from civil society organizations, trade unions, employers’ organizations and experts. The meeting was attended by members of the Working Group from representative trade unions, employers’ associations, civil society organizations, the International Labour Organization, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs.
Center for Democracy Foundation / NCEU
