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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]

Family policies and family support measures have been identified as having major implications for child well-being, particularly through their role in influencing parental and family resources, circumstances and behaviour. The official approach to family policies focuses on opportunities for families to balance their work and family duties and care for their children. This paper analyses the type of policies available in Montenegro compared to the European Union. Potentially, Montenegro will become an EU member state, thus it is important to take a look at Montenegrin practice, as children should have equal life chances and protection of their well-being. Having a solid legal framework per se does not necessarily result in significant positive outcomes, and this paper analyses whether children in Montenegro have the same opportunities for development, in the context of family policies, as their counterparts in the rest of Europe. The focus of the paper will be on the criteria that define family rights and obligations, eligibility, availability and use of family policies in Montenegro. Based on the specific measures and datasets examined, the analysis considers the degree to which a period of family policy investment in Montenegro has been accompanied by improvements in child well-being and family resources, and undertakes comparisons in these regards with EU-wide family policy and child well-being trends. The paper uses a welfare state theoretical approach, with the focus on social investment and relevant data on children's well-being obtained from the Eurostat, the OECD and the official national statistics.