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The paper analyses the developments of the labour market policies in Montenegro from the perspective of social investment. Montenegro is a candidate country for the European Union membership and there is a need of harmonisation of normative framework. Social investment is gaining considerable attention of EU policy makers and is positioned highly on the social policy agenda. Consequently, the paper examines whether Montenegrin labour market performs in the similar fashion as in the EU. The aim of the research is to show whether Montenegrin labour market will be ready for the accession, both normatively and in practice. Active labour market policies are in the focus of the paper, as they are one of the most representative social investment measures in this policy area. There is also an analysis of two specific policies: so called "mothers' allowances" and the "apprentice programme". This analysis shows that Montenegro has a good starting point in terms of the legal framework it has enacted, but in practice, social investment is not present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protection and inclusion have for long been some of the guiding principles of the European welfare states. The crisis of 2008 placed social investment high on the social policy agenda in the EU and specific policies that the new paradigm embraces have been in focus. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to administering policies. Creating one-stop shops, as a new way of easier and more efficient use of available resources for citizens, is perceived as the most suitable way for administration of specific policies. This paper is a contribution to this debate, looking at ways social policy is administered across the EU, from a double perspective. First, having social investment as the theoretical but also practical approach and second, looking at different welfare state regimes. This approach should point to major differences in social policy administration but also present which models perform the best. Most importantly, the paper aims to show how administering social care influences implementation of policy changes across the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]