“Strengthening national and local systems to support the effective socio-economic integration of returnees in the Western Balkans” is part of the IPA II Multi-Country Action Programme entrusted to UNDP, the WB and the CoE, to support the fundamental rights of Roma community and other vulnerable returnees, in three countries of Western Balkans, namely in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.

The project is implemented to address the reintegration of the significant number of returnees from the EU during the last years, while the Western Balkans countries were declared “safe countries of origin”. In 2017, Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia were ranked among the top 20 countries with the highest number of nationals with unregulated residence status in the EU. Limited work opportunities, low-paid jobs, large informal sector and the poor quality of health and education services, among others, due to neglect and disinvestment in social infrastructure, are some of the main drivers of outward migration.

In this context, the project enhances the capabilities of the Western Balkan authorities to implement holistic solutions to economic and social empowerment of returnees. By tackling the root causes and negative drivers of migration of Roma and vulnerable populations, the project contributes to implementation of the broader social inclusion agenda in the Western Balkans.

The ultimate objective of the project is to translate the tested models into national regulation and public policies and programmes for sustainable reintegration of vulnerable returnees, while UNDP primarily addresses the local level challenges.

The project works closely with local level institutions responsible to provide services for the reintegration of returnees with a main focus to those from Roma and Egyptian ethnic minority, with local civil society actors and local business community. The community of returnees, is considered both as beneficiary and partner during the implementation, aiming to create ownership of the actions foreseen to take, to the returnees themselves.

The project tackles a variety of key hindrances to reintegration, including but not limited to:

• developing or improving local strategies and services in the benefit of reintegration of returnees;
• supporting local government institutions to improve service provision and respond to the reintegration needs of the returnees; 
• setting-up a data collection system for systematic monitoring of the progress in the implementation of local returnees’ strategies;
• providing personalized support to individual’s growth, reflective of individual’s education, skills, experience, preferences and professional aspirations by equipping returnees with a suite of soft, technical and digital skills to improve their employability in the formal labour market;
• supporting returnees with entrepreneurial potential to start their own business;
• supporting the implementation of community cohesion component of local reintegration strategies through small grants schema for local government units and local NGOs, in order to encourage engagement of returnees to improve trust and collaboration between them and resident population;
• improving access to social and administrative services by returnees including by use of digital tools;
• strengthening capacities of NGOs and public service providers for effective provision of services including with the application of new digital tools.

Important noting is that based on the learning and knowledge assembled during the implementation, the project aims to promote the regional dialogue among policy makers and practitioners, on topics of significance for the sustainable reintegration of returnees, in order to provide a space for exchanging the views and experience between policy makers and policy practitioners.

In Albania, this project is being implemented in Municipalities of Fieri, Devolli and Berati.