The transport sector represented over five per cent of the Western Balkans’ workforce. Transport workers in the region need improved social standards, job security, and attractive and fair working conditions. But in the Western Balkans there is a lack of transposition and implementation of existing legislation in the field of social issues and passenger rights: working conditions, healthy and safe working environments, equal opportunities, and passenger rights. Therefore, the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat has prepared the Next Generation Action Plan for Implementation of the EU Acquis on Social Issues and Passenger Rights in Transport that aims to improve the overall situation on the ground as well as at the legislation level.
The Action Plan provides a list of short and medium-term (2026 – 2028) measures. It was developed through close cooperation and coordination with all relevant stakeholders: regional partners, representatives of the European Commission, members of technical committees from various sectors, and other key institutions.
Draft measures on social issues were finalised and endorsed at the Informal Tachograph Group meeting held in Germany in September 2025. Passenger rights measures were endorsed earlier, at the 6th Social Forum in April 2025 in Tirana, which focused specifically on strengthening passenger rights in the Western Balkans.
