IV. The Central European Initiative

The Central European Initiative (CEI), with a membership of 17 states in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe, was under Italian chairmanship in 2001. Its aim is to bring its Members closer to the European integration process, to promote regional stability and development, and to pre-empt the development of new lines of division in Europe by cooperation in all fields.

The Summit of the CEI Heads of Government in Trieste on 23 November decided to support the campaign against terrorism and to co-operate in this field with other organisations, especially the OSCE. The meeting approved the CEI Plan of Action for 2002-2003 and the reports of the 16 working groups. The main themes of the simultaneous CEI Summit Economic Forum, comprising Ministers of Economy, Presidents of Economic Chambers and 1400 Experts, were the development of private enterprise, infrastructure and modern technologies and neighbourhood policies. The first CEI Youth Forum discussed relevant cultural, social and employment policies.

The main items on the agenda of the Meeting of CEI Foreign Ministers in Milan on 22 June were the situations in southern Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro, a solution to the Transnistria conflict, co-operation with the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and the creation of a new CEI Cooperation Fund of €300,000 annually, with pro rata contributions by Members, to finance CEI projects from 2002 onwards. The CEI Ministers of Justice, meeting in Trieste in March, stepped up cooperation towards combating organised crime. The Ministers of Agriculture, meeting in Verona in April, agreed on measures to improve the security of food supply.

The parliamentary dimension of the CEI plays an important role: The CEI Parliamentary Committee met in Rome in March, the Assembly met in October, and the Speakers of Parliament in Budapest in March, when they adopted resolutions on regional affairs and CEI cooperation.

The Committee of National Coordinators adopted internal guidelines to strengthen cooperation at a coordination meeting in February, when Austria announced the reactivation of the working group on the environment and issued an invitation to a conference to prepare for the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development ("Rio+10"). Preparations were made for the CEI to accede to the OECD Cooperative Action Programme on Local Economic Development (LEED). The OSCE summit suggested enhanced cooperation with the CEI to combat terrorism. Meetings were also held with the European Commission, the UN-ECE and other international bodies. The numerous CEIsupported investment projects, studies and training programmes, especially in the economically weaker member states, are financed mainly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) through the CEI Trust Fund, and are administered by the CEI Project Secretariat in London. There were eight international conferences and meetings on political, economic and cultural themes sponsored by the CEI.

The costs of the CEI Executive Secretariat in Trieste are met by the host country Italy and the Friuli-Julia-Venetia Region, while Austria contributes the expenses for the Director-General. The CEI Foreign Ministers expressed their appreciation to the retiring Director-General, Paul Hartig of Austria, whose second term of office ended in 2001. His successor is another Austrian, Ambassador Harald Kreid.