The Social Rights Monitor goes to the Western Balkans

The 2025 edition of the Social Rights Monitor (SRM) and its key findings were presented at two events organised by SOLIDAR members in the Western Balkans, bringing together civil society organisations, policymakers, and experts at both national and EU levels. The Social Rights Monitor (SRM) is SOLIDAR’s annual publication on the state of social rights and civic space in Europe, from the perspective of civil society organisations. 

On 13 November, SOLIDAR and several of its members contributing to this year’s SRM (CPS, DAFNI KEK, ARCI, Povod) convened for a panel discussion on recent developments and emerging trends in social rights at national and EU levels. SOLIDAR presented an overview of current EU initiatives in the field of social rights and assessed the extent to which these measures respond to the needs identified in the SRM. The event, titled “The European Pillar of Social Rights in the Mediterranean Context – Towards a Fairer Society”, was organised by SOLIDAR’s Croatian member Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) in cooperation with SOS Rijeka. 

The following week, on 20 November, SOLIDAR presented the preliminary findings of the SRM at the regional conference of the IRIS Network, co-organised by SOLIDAR’s Serbian member Initiative for Development and Cooperation (IDC). The conference, entitled “Bridging Societies: The Social Dimension of Western Balkans EU Approximation”, focused on the steps needed to ensure that the EU accession process leads to fairer societies and stronger social rights. SOLIDAR contributed by outlining key regional trends in social rights and identifying shared challenges and opportunities that should be addressed within the EU accession framework, with the European Pillar of Social Rights placed at its core. 

Through these events, the SRM was disseminated at national level to a wide and diverse audience, fostering dialogue on the links between national social rights realities and EU-level policies and measures. More broadly, the SRM serves as a bridge between the EU and national levels, supporting the monitoring and implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights across Europe. 

The Social Rights Monitor and related events are realised in the framework of SOLIDAR’s Organisational Strategy 2021-2025 and the program ”Realising Social Europe for All and With All”, supported by the European Union, through the EaSI strand of the ESF+ programme.