International projects

The ministery of Social Affairs and Employment/Agency SZW is formally responsible for managing bilateral cooperation projects with ministries for Labour and Social Security in EU since 2008. The ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is involved in several international projects focused on social security issues in collaboration with EU candidate member states and neighbouring EU countries. These projects are initiated and funded by the EVD (Dutch organisation for International Business and Cooperation) on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is the so called MATRA government to government Programme.

The MATRA government to government programme aims to:

• strengthen the relations between governmental bodies of the Netherlands and governmental organisations in the eligible countries;
• assist the candidate member states in meeting the criteria for EU membership through bilateral co-operative projects focusing on the consequences of the implementation of the EU legislation;
• assist the recipient country (Member or Candidate Member States) with the transformation, implementation and enforcement of the acquis communautaire or to assist the recipient country (Neighbouring Countries) to harmonise their legislation with the EU acquis;
• furthermore the program aims to establish sustainable working relationships between governmental institutions within the Netherlands and in recipient countries as well as within and vice versa.

The implementation of the following Matra projects are finished:

Turkey

• Developing and implementing labour market instruments to decrease long term unemployment.
• Implementing Seveso II guidelines in the Occupational Health and Safety System.
• Actuarial topics in Social Security.

Azerbaijan
Integration of disabled into the national labour market.

Macedonia
Assistance regarding the improvement of the national labour legislation and practices through strengthening the integrated flexicurity approach.

Bulgaria

Identification of needs and gaps in the Bulgarian system in the field of poverty reduction and development of a guideline.

Romania
Strengthening the capacity of social partners to access and use the ESF. Designing the system of annuity payment within the framework of the second pillar pension system.

The following projects are still being implemented by Agency SZW:

Turkey

• Training Iskur jobcoaches on methods and instruments for mediation of the longterm unemployed.
• Training towards a Turkish second pillar pension scheme.
• Improvement of the quality of external Occupational Health and Safety services.

Morocco
Capacity building in the field of employment conditions.

Croatia
Strengthening of the safety component of the Croatian Institute for Health Protection and Safety at Work (CIHPSW).

The following deliverables have been developed in the projects:

• Manuals and guidelines
• Vision statements
• Workmethodes analysis of the country in question
• Information brochures
• Standard formats