Bosnia and Herzegovina’s new PES Director General to visit WAPES Executive Secretariat – A Pathway to collaboration

We are thrilled to welcome the Public Employment Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their new Director General, Ivan Barbalic , to the WAPES community.

On March 21, 2024, the European Council gave the green light for Bosnia and Herzegovina to start formal accession talks with the EU, following the European Commission’s positive recommendation. However, these talks are conditional upon Bosnia making further progress on the reforms outlined in the Commission’s recommendation. Enhancing their Public Employment Service is crucial. WAPES and its members support this effort.

On May 22nd, 2024 , we had the pleasure of hosting the delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Ivan Barbalic , General Director, Samir Zuko, Assistant Director for International Relations and the Local Labour Market, and Sanela Mesanovic, Employment Expert Advisor. Their visit aimed to learn more about WAPES services and the German approach.

To facilitate this, we invited our German members from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit to share their expertise. Special thanks to Michael van der Cammen ,
Director for International Relations, for presenting the German PES services and Nathalie RIVAULT , Head of EURES NCO Germany, for showcasing the EURES NETWORK.

The delegation also visited the European Labour Authority office in Brussels and the International Labour Organization Office to the EU to explore their initiatives and other EU directorates. A heartfelt thank you to Lieve Verboven and Germana VIGLIETTA .

This is how we foster international collaboration for Public Employment Services globally.

WAPES, an association for its members, by its members…