Social Protection in the EU Candidate Countries

On behalf of the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate General of the European Commission, the Gesellschaft für Versicherungswissenschaft und –gestaltung (GVG) conducted a study which analysed the status quo of the social protection systems in the 13 candidate countries. With the release of the country studies in the GVG publication series, we would like to offer our members and all who are interested in international social policy developments current and comparable information about the social protection systems in the candidate countries. The 13 country reports are published in 4 volumes. The country reports, which were compiled by experts of the respective countries are widely structured in the same manner: Chapter 1 describes the economical, social and demographic conditions regarding the social protection and it’s development within the last 5 to 10 years. Chapter 2 gives a general overview of the social protection system. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 analyse the pension system (3), the poverty and social exclusion area (4) and the healthcare system (5). Not only is there discussion regarding the current structures of the systems, but in all areas there are ongoing discussions regarding future challenges and the consequences of joining the European Union.