Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have (1) commissioned, or (2) supported, any study into the causes of unemployment among skilled young people in (a) Kosovo, (b) Albania, (c) Bosnia-Herzegovina, and (d) any other states of the Western Balkans.

​The Foreign & Commonwealth Office commissioned a Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) in 2017 (refreshed in 2019) for the Western Balkans. A JACS is a strategic assessment used to strengthen cross-government approaches to tackling conflict and instability overseas. The analysis covered youth unemployment as well as migration and "brain-drain". In addition, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has commissioned analysis on 'The Cost of Youth Emigration from Serbia' and analysis by the British Council for the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF).

Through the CSSF, the Government funds the following projects to help tackle unemployment in the Western Balkans:

• 21st Century Schools; which will provide training to children in over 4,500 schools, to improve digital literacy and core skills across the Western Balkans.;

• a project supporting employment and social services for vulnerable youths in Albania; and

• in North Macedonia working jointly with the National Youth Council and IT Chamber of Commerce to support digital skills training to young people in return for community work.