SEECP

State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and SEECP Co-ordinator Hido Biščević chaired the meeting of the Committee of SEECP Political Directors, held 8 and 9 May 2007 in Zagreb.

State Secretary Biščević informed the participants of the meeting about the activities Croatia has undertaken during its SEECP presidency, as well as the presidency’s results.

The political directors discussed the situation in the region, as well as the concrete forms of future co-operation and its political and institutional framework. They have also prepared the decisions on the appointment of the Co-operation Council’s secretary general and the location of the Secretariat’s headquarters, as well as the documents to be discussed and accepted at the meeting of SEECP foreign ministers on 10 May 2007 and the Summit of SEECP Heads of State and Government on 11 May 2007.

The Republic of Croatia will end its SEECP presidency on 11 May 2007, after which it will be assumed by the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Stability Pact’s Regional Table will meet in the Croatian capital, Zagreb on 10 May 2007 in the morning to discus developments in the regional co-operation and endorse key decisions, namely the appointment of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) Secretary General and the designation of the seat of the RCC Secretariat.

The Regional Table will meet back to back with South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) Foreign Ministers, who are meeting in the afternoon of 10 May, and with the SEECP Summit on 11 May.

The Regional Table will also discuss the final phase of the transition from the Stability Pact to the Regional Co-operation Council, including the envisaged assistance of the Pact's Secretariat to the RCC Secretary General in the build-up of and transfer of responsibilities to the RCC Secretariat, to be completed by mid 2008.

The meetings of the Stability Pact Working Tables will not take place at the margins of the RT meeting as usual. A special meeting of Working Tables is planned for late November/early December 2007.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and Coordinator of SEECP Hido Biščević presided over the Special Meeting of the Committee of Political Directors of SEECP in Zagreb on 24 and 25 April 2007.

State Secretary Biščević presented the results of recent activities that the Republic of Croatia organized as part of its SEECP Chairmanship – Regional Ministerial Conference on Energy, Meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs and the Conference of Parliament Presidents.

Political directors gave special attention to specific forms of future strengthening of regional ownership of cooperation in Southeast Europe during which they considered candidates for the position of Secretary General of the Council for Cooperation and the headquarters of the Council Secretariat. The Secretary General and the headquarters will be chosen by the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 10 May 2007 and their choice will be confirmed by SEECP State and Government Presidents on 11 May 2007 at the Zagreb Summit.

The Republic of Croatia will end its SEECP Chairmanship on 11 May 2007 when the Chairmanship will be taken over by Bulgaria.

The Croatian Parliament is organising the Sixth Conference of SEECP Speakers of Parliament „New South East Europe: Role of the Parliaments“ (South-East European Cooperation Proces - SEECP), which shall take place in the Westin Zagreb on 15–17 April 2007.

On the first day of the Conference, the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Vladimir Šeks as the host of the Conference, the President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesić and the President of the Croatian Government Ivo Sanader will address the participants. The agenda shall also include contributions by Speakers of national parliaments and Presidents of parliamentary assemblies. The adoption of a joint declaration has been announced.

After the Conference, a reception hosted by the President of the Republic of Croatia Stjepan Mesić will be held, followed by dinner hosted by the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Vladimir Šeks.

SEECP was launched in 1996. At the meeting held under the Bulgarian SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office in Sofia, the states of South East Europe laid the foundations for regional co-operation with a view to creating a climate of trust, good-neighbourly relations and stability. The Republic of Croatia became a SEECP participating country in October 2004.

State Secretary for Political Affairs and SEECP Co-ordinator Hido Biščević chaired the Working Meeting of SEECP Political Directors held 27 and 28 March in Zagreb.

The political directors discussed the situation in the region, issues concerning the exit strategy of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, further development of the conditions in SEE, with an emphasis on the relevance of the Euro-Atlantic integration processes, and the role of SEECP as a political forum that will assume the leading role in SEE regional co-operation.

The political directors paid special attention to the concrete forms of the future strengthening of regional ownership over SEE cooperation, reviewing the political and legal documents to be adopted at the Meeting of SEECP Heads of State and Government in Zagreb, 11 May 2007.

The meeting also saw the presentation of the activities Croatia will organise by the end of its presidency. The Regional Energy Conference is to be held on 2 and 3 April 2007, Meeting of Justice and Internal Affairs Ministers on 12 and 13 April 2007, and the Meeting of Parliament Speakers on 15 and 16 April 2007. The Republic of Croatia will end its SEECP presidency with the Meeting of SEECP Heads of State and Government, 11 May 2007.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović chaired in Zagreb on 2 March 2007 the meeting of the foreign ministers of the South-East European Co-operation Process (SEECP). The meeting saw foreign ministers from SEECP participating countries or their deputies, as well as the representatives of Montenegro, European Commission, Germany’s EU presidency, Stability Pact for South East Europe, OSCE and UNMIK/Kosovo in the capacity of special guests.

The ministers discussed the political situation in South East Europe and expressed satisfaction with the progress the region has made in strengthening the security, stability and neighbourly relations, and especially as regards the Euro-Atlantic integration. They pointed out the importance of EU enlargement towards South East Europe as a stimulation for carrying out the reforms and the spreading of the area of peace and stability. They welcomed the NATO Riga Summit and its results as a confirmation of the progress in implementing the reforms by its membership aspirants. The ministers pointed out the NATO membership, as well as participation in the Partnership for Peace programme, as important factors in the spreading of the trans-Atlantic security area onto the area of South East Europe.

The ministers also reviewed the events around the solving of Kosovo’s status, stressing the importance of that issue for the future of security and stability in South East Europe and expressing support for the efforts of UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. They also stressed the importance of Kosovo as a democratic and multiethnic society based on the rule of law, minority protection, protection of cultural goods, and the co-operation and solidarity of all communities. They pointed out the Euro-Atlantic perspective as the best framework for the solution of the issue. The ministers invited both sides to maintain the dialogue and consultations with the Special Envoy, stressing their interest for a unified Contact Group. They confirmed SEECP’s interest to remain involved in the process.

As an important contribution to economic development and the liberalisation and strengthening of trade, the ministers welcomed the signing and emphasised the importance of ratifying the new CEFTA 2006 Agreement, initiated by Croatia.

Within the context of continuing the discussions on setting up new structures of regional co-operation and strengthening SEECP as a political framework of regional co-operation, the ministers welcomed the work on setting up the Regional Co-operation Council, to be founded pursuant to the Stability Pact transformation. It will contain all of the SEECP participants, the European Commission and the international community. The ministers reached decisions on the procedure of electing the seat for the Regional Co-operation Council and its future secretary general. They also requested of the SEECP Board of Political Directors to continue working on the amendments to the SEECP founding document – the Charter of Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Co-operation in the South East Europe, to reflect the new circumstances of a strengthened regional co-operation and its new structures. The Chairman, Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, presented the activities that Croatia would organise by the end of its presidency in May 2007. The Regional Energy Conference is to be held on 3 April 2007, the meeting of justice and interior ministers on 12 and 13 April 2007, and the meeting of parliament speakers on 15 and 16 April 2007. Croatia will end its presidency with a meeting of SEECP heads of state and government on 11 May 2007.

The ministers expresses satisfaction over the fact that on the latter meeting the Republic of Montenegro will become the 11th SEECP participant.

As a part of Croatia’s SEECP chairmanship, a meeting of SEECP political directors was held on 13 and 14 February 2007 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, chaired by State Secretary for Political Affairs and Co-ordinator of Croatia’s SEECP Chairmanship Hido Biščević.

Within the context of the Stability Pact’s exit strategy for South East Europe and the simultaneous strengthening of SEECP, the political directors paid special attention to the future principles of regional co-operation in South East Europe, in which SEECP will play a central role. In that regard they reviewed the political and legal documents to be adopted at the SEECP foreign ministers’ meeting in Zagreb on 1 and 2 March 2007 and at the meeting of SEECP heads of state and government on 11 May 2007 in Zagreb, at which expected to take part are European Commission’s President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is going to chair a Meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs, to be held in Zagreb on 1 - 2 March 2007.

The Meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs is going to be held within the framework of the Croatian SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office. The ministers are going to discuss the situation in South Eastern Europe, issues related to the reshaping of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and the role of the SEECP as a political forum which will take over the leading role in the regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe.

Part of the dialogue between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs will also be the continuation of the involvement of the European Commission and international donors in the work of new regional co-operation bodies which are to replace the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

After the Meeting a press conference of the SEECP Troika Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria) will be held on Friday, 2 March 2007 at Hotel Westin.

The Republic of Croatia assumed the Chairmanship of the SEECP on 4 May 2006 at the Meeting of Heads of State and Government in Thessaloniki. The next Chairmanship will be held by Bulgaria which will take over on 11 May 2007 at the Meeting of Heads of State and Government in Zagreb.

The Meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be preceded by the Meeting of the Committee of Political Directors of the SEECP on 28 February and 1 March 2007.

Information on the recent activities of the SEECP
under the Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office

The Republic of Croatia took over the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) at the Thessaloniki Summit on 4 May 2006 and on that occasion presented the Platform of its SEECP CiO. The three pillars of Croatia’s activities as the SEECP CiO are: strengthening of the regional voice, promoting the European dimension of the region and enhancing the operational capabilities of regional co-operation.

The Croatian SEECP CiO hosted in Rijeka an Informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SEECP on 8 – 9 December 2006. The Informal Meeting was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia and attended by the foreign ministers or their representatives of the SEECP Participating States. The Special Invitees also participated in the meeting: the foreign minister of the Republic of Montenegro, the Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for SEE, the Head of UNMIK, and the Head of the EC Delegation in Croatia.

The participants reviewed the situation in South Eastern Europe and the role of the SEECP in fostering Euro-Atlantic integration processes and stability in the region. They underlined the commitment of the countries of the region to the common Euro-Atlantic goals and regional co-operation. The participants supported balanced solutions to the open issues, as well as contribution of the SEECP to the stabilisation and democratisation processes. In that view they expressed their expectation to meet with the Contact Group during its next session.

The participants focused particular attention to the discussion on strengthening of the SEECP in the context of the phasing out process of the Stability Pact for SEE and welcomed relevant conclusions of the Regional Table in Bucharest, in particular the agreement on the division of regional contributions to the budget of the RCC Secretariat.

Relations between the SEECP and the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) have been further elaborated. The ministers concluded that the mandate and the legal status of the RCC should be devised in a way that will ensure regional ownership, a continuation of the successful SP initiatives, necessary international participation and a leading political role for the SEECP. There is a general understanding that the future institutional structure of the regional co-operation framework will need to be efficient, operational and not overly complex. Keeping the international donors involved in regional projects should be one of the priorities, as well as strengthening the relations between the SEECP and the EC in order to enhance political profile of the SEECP and operational capacities in the regional and, particularly, the EU context.

The importance of the close co-ordination between the Stability Pact for SEE and the Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office on the path to enhanced regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe has been emphasised. The participants welcomed the upcoming meeting of the Working Group on Institutional Arrangements for the RCC that will take place in Brussels on 23-24 January 2007. They appraised the GUIDELINES-Process of transformation of the regional cooperation structures in the SEECP Area that has been prepared by the Croatian SEECP CiO as a valuable contribution to discussion on the future of regional contribution in South Eastern Europe. The participants also welcomed the documents prepared by the Stability Pact – Recent Progress and Future Steps in SP Transition Towards the Regional Co-operation Council, Regional Co-operation Council - Outline of Expertise Required, Working Group on Institutional Arrangements for the Regional Co-operation Council.

The SEECP Participating States welcomed the forthcoming inclusion of the Republic of Montenegro in the SEECP at the Summit in Zagreb. This will be an important contribution to the strengthening of regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe. The participants took note of the nomination of the Republic of Moldova to take over the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office in 2008/2009.

The Republic of Croatia presented the future meetings and activities within the framework of the Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office of the SEECP. The Croatian SEECP CiO plans to host a number of meetings. Speakers of the Parliaments, Ministers of the Economy, Ministers of Transport and Ministers of Home and Justice Affairs will meet to discuss concrete actions in fostering co-operation within their respective portfolios. The Croatian SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office will also organise two regional conferences – energy and human capital building. The conferences will gather, along with competent ministers from the region, high officials of the European Commission, ministers from the neighbouring countries, experts and regional players in these two crucial areas of common interest. The Croatian SEECP CiO will provide information on exact dates and venues of the planned meetings and conferences in mid January 2007.

The Croatian SEECP CiO also announced that a Formal Meeting of the SEECP Foreign Ministers will take place in February 2007. That meeting will come at a crucial stage in discussions regarding a decision to be taken at the SEECP Summit on future relations between the SEECP, the RCC, and the Secretariat.

Finally, in order to increase the pace of preparing all necessary documents and decisions for the forthcoming Formal Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affaires of the SEECP as well as the SEECP Summit, the SEECP foreign ministers assigned the following tasks to the Political Directors:

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, in the capacity of the SEECP Chairman, chaired the informal meeting of SEECP foreign ministers 8 and 9 December 2006 in Rijeka. The meeting saw the participation of SEECP foreign minister and other high officials. The special invitees included Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Roćen, Stability Pact’s Special Co-ordinator Erhand Busek, Head of the European Commission’s Delegation Vincent Degert, and Special Representative and head of UNMIK Joachim Rücker.

The meeting was dedicated to the situation and progress of South Eastern Europe in relation to the Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as the strengthening of the European perspective of South Eastern Europe. The ministers expressed their support for the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the SEECP members, stressing their importance as an inevitable framework for ensuring stability, security, and wellbeing in this part of Europe. They also reviewed the situation in the region in view of the final negotiation on the status of Kosovo, pointing out that it is in the joint interest of SEE countries that this important issue be solved in the interest of the people and contribute to the stability of SEE. The participant expressed their support in that regard for the efforts of the international community, namely the EU and the Contact Group, pointing out the importance of the implementation of the standards and human rights.
The ministers welcomed the results of the NATO Summit held in Riga 28 and 29 November 2006, as an incentive for the continuation of the reform processes with the aim of strengthening the security dimension of South Eastern Europe.

The ministers also discussed the further strengthening of SEECP as an authentic voice of the region and the continuation of the co-operation between SEECP, the Stability Pact and the European Commission, in view of the transformation of the SEE regional co-operation, with the aim of strengthening the regional ownership over that co-operation.

In her presentation, Minister Grabar-Kitarović announced that, as a part of its SEECP presidency, Croatia will organise meetings of ministers of foreign affairs, economy, justice, home affairs and education, as well as a regional conference on energy supplies. Croatia’s SEECP presidency will end with a meeting of heads of state and government May 2007.

Meeting of the Committee of Political Directors
of the South-East European Cooperation Process

The Committee of Political Directors of the South-East European Cooperation Process held its meeting in Opatija, 5-6 October 2006 under the Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office. Political directors of all the SEECP Participating States took part in the meeting, as well as representatives of the Republic of Montenegro, as special invitees of the CiO.

The participants reviewed the developments in the region and stressed the importance of the Euro-Atlantic integration process as an indispensable impetus and framework for ensuring stability, security and prosperity of South East Europe. They evaluated the present situation in SEE in the light of the recent elections and political developments in the region.

The SEECP Political Directors welcomed with special appraisal the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the full membership of the European Union. They underlined the importance of the EU enlargement to SEE as a key contributor to the democratic stability and security in the region. They appraised the pace of Croatia’s negotiations with the EU in conviction that Croatia would be ready for membership by 2009. They also expressed their support to the countries of the region in their institutional relations with the EU.

The SEECP Political Directors also assessed the state of the relations of Participating States with NATO. They appraised the fulfilment of the required reforms by the aspirant countries and called upon the forthcoming NATO Riga Summit to confirm that one or more SEECP countries are to be the next NATO invitees in 2008. They are convinced that such a decision would enhance the security dimension and contribution of the SEEP area in the broader Transatlantic security environment.

The SEECP Political Directors recognize that SEE is entering a challenging period of defining a durable security and stability architecture. They confirm that it is of vital importance in this process to preserve and enhance the dynamic of changes, reforms, democratic stability and Euro-Atlantic policy. They also reaffirmed the need for regional cooperation and solidarity and called for an attentive, balanced and cohesive approach by the international community to the remaining issues.

The SEECP Political Directors expressed their support to the democratic and reform oriented policy in Serbia as part of the Euro-Atlantic aspirations and contribution to regional stability and cooperation. They believe that conditions will be met and created so as to allow for the resumption of Serbia’s SAA negotiations and strengthening of the overall Serbia - EU relations.

They exchanged views on the Kosovo status negotiations and underlined the importance of a comprehensive settlement based on compromise that would reflect the legitimate interests of all parties concerned and add to the regional stability and cooperation, recalling the principles of the Contact Group. They expressed readiness of the SEECP to continue to be involved in consultations with the Contact Group.

They appraised Montenegro’s independence as a proven contribution to regional stability and expressed support for Montenegro’s policy toward its neighbours as well as its EU and NATO policy.

They evaluated the developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular after the recent elections, stressing the need to continue with the reforms and SAA negotiations as well as to resume constitutional talks. They agreed that the EU and the international community should remain engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The participants discussed modalities of strengthening the SEECP and its cooperation with the Stability Pact for SE Europe now in the process of transformation into the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) as decided at the Stability Pact Regional Table Meeting in Belgrade in May 2006. They confirmed their firm position that the SEECP must continue to grow as the authentic voice of SEE, defining its relations with the RCC in a way that will ensure regional ownership, including gradually the financial aspects, continuation of the successful SP initiatives and necessary international participation. In this light, they welcomed the establishment of a Working Group for Financial Issues that will discus financial contributions of the SEECP Participating States to the structures of the regional cooperation framework. The importance of strengthening relations between the SEECP and the EC was stressed and the establishment of a Liaison Office of the SEECP to the EC initiated.

The participants welcomed the programme and schedule of the meetings within the framework of the Croatian SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office.

The Committee of Political Directors of the SEECP welcomed the forthcoming signing of the Charter on good neighbourly relations, stability, security and co-operation in South Eastern Europe by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova. They expressed their satisfaction with Moldova becoming the tenth full-fledged Participating State in the SEECP. They also expressed their support to the participation of the Republic of Montenegro in the SEECP.

State Secretary for Political Affairs and South Eastern European Cooperation Process (SEECP) co-ordinator Hido Biščević chaired the meeting of the SEECP Committee of Political Directors (CPD), held in Opatija, 6 October 2006.

The meeting pointed out the three important dimensions of Croatia’s SEECP presidency: Strengthening the SEECP as an authentic voice of the region, promoting the European dimension of the South Eastern Europe, and strengthening the concrete forms, projects, and initiatives of regional modernisation and development.
The political directors discussed the situation in the region, forms of regional co-operation, issues concerning the exit strategy of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, pointing out the importance of the Euro-Atlantic integration processes as the frameworks that contribute to the stability, security, and progress of the South Eastern Europe.

The meeting saw the presence of all of the SEECP countries, as well as the representatives of the Republic of Montenegro as the special guests of Croatia’s SEECP presidency.

The Republic of Croatia assumed the SEECP presidency 4 May 2006 at the meeting of the heads of state and government held in Thessaloniki, and will be succeeded by Bulgaria in May/June 2007.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović hosted 3rd Informal Meeting of the Ministers of European Affairs of South Eastern Europe held in Dubrovnik, on Friday, July 7, 2006.

This year's ministerial meeting was held as a part of Croatian SEECP (South-East European Cooperation Process) Chairmanship. One of the subjects broached during the meeting was the issue of progress of states of South Eastern Europe towards the European Union and further enlargement. Two panel discussions were organized with the following subject - „3C & 3D“ dealing with the common admission of South Eastern European area to the well-known 3C term (consolidation – conditionality – communication) about the further enlargement in the 3D shape (dynamics – determination – dialogue) that was proposed by Minister Grabar-Kitarović while the title of the second panel discussion was „Bulding Bridges of Understanding – South Eastern Europe meets the Northern Europe“

Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out while talking about the further enlargement in the framework of „3C & 3D“ admission with a short reference to the dynamics of enlargement that this should be based on the individual achievement of each state candidate. Furthermore, Minister Grabar-Kitarović said that positive effects due to the enlargement on new state members as for the European Union, as well as for the aspirant states should not be forgotten. Minister Grabar-Kitarović emphasized that recent studies had given proof of the success that the latest enlargement had since the Central European area became a zone of stability and progress during the last 15 years.

Furthermore, Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that the benefits of membership are obvious and long-lasting so they present a powerfull motive for the implementation of all the necessary reforms which is creating states partners of the European Union that are ready and capable of sharing European values – democracy, protection of human rights and rule of justice. For this reason, the aspirant states are not a safety threat neither an economical burden for the European Union, but equal partners which is an additional encouragement for the aspirant states in their consistence of implementation of reforms and taking over the obligations that are consequence of membership in the European Union.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović said that the Republic of Croatia would like the same benefits for her neighbours and therefore it is important to fulfill the cooperation with neighbouring countries that is going to be open and based on the European principles in confirmity with politics of the European Union.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović refered not only to dynamics and determination as essential components of the 3D admission but also to importance of dialogue that should be led as in a country's sphere of politics, society's elite and in public in general, so in the neighbouring countries and with the European Union.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović expressed belief that the European Union would keep its promisses and that the enlargement of the European Union would continue as a process contributing the strength of the European Union. Furthermore, Minister Grabar-Kitarović pointed out that the European Union's absorbing power, often presented as an obstacle for the further enlargement, wasn't in its own nature since the European Union is not a club absorbing new members but admitting them.