Economic growth

The two-day international conference held in Skopje, Macedonia on 9-10 November centered around the topics of the SME Instrument and Horizon 2020. The event was opened by Natascia LAI from the Executive Agency for SMEs, European Commission, who presented the possibilities the programme offered to companies, explained what the Commission was looking for in an innovative project and what the future brought in terms of funding of innovative ideas.
 

The expert conference on "Transport & Logistics - Optimization of the distribution of goods in the regions" took place in Opatija, Croatia on 9 November 2017. The event was organised by The Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) and was attended by more than 85 participants from over eight European countries.

The conference, held in Chisinau on 25-27 May, witnessed the participation of around 60 women entrepreneurs in the crafts field from Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova. Discussions focused on problems faced by women entrepreneurs, solutions and success stories. The gathering aimed at transferring knowledge and exchanging experiences and good practices on migration management in order to contribute to opening new job opportunities.

Useful inputs for business starters and new insights on market trends were the key aspects of the Conference “SMEs – Business development and regional cooperation” held on in Belgrade on 3 March. Organised by the media production company Business Info Group (BIG), the event aimed at increasing  SME sector operations, cooperation between decision makers and SME representatives as well as at stimulating export growth. 

Under the title ”Driving Forces and Perspectives for the Development of the CEI Wood Sector”,  the CEI Business Forum organised under the BiH CEI Presidency, took place in Sarajevo on 16 December. Representatives of several companies and institutions from CEI countries, including the President of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH and a representative of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, gathered in order to discuss issues and opportunities for the timber industry in the region.

As part of the MEDOCE project  "Establishing Methodology for the Development of CE Application for Directive on Machinery", on 24 November, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) hosted a training for producers of machinery who have to meet the technical  requirements regarding CE marking or the Serbian harmonisation marking for their products.

The final event of the MEDOCE Project "Establishing Methodology for the Development of CE Application for Directive on Machinery" was held in Belgrade on 25 October.

Connecting China via land and sea with the global economy through the Belt and Road Initiative will eventually encompass three continents, more than 65 countries and more than 4 billion people who produce 55 per cent of the world’s gross national product.
 

Approximately 80 participants from eight European countries, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, attended the seminar on energy efficiency held in Novi Sad on 22 April 2016. The topic on energy efficiency also attracted many key players in the region, mainly representing civil organisations, government bodies and universities.
 

SME representatives from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered in Belgrade, Serbia, on 19 February 2016 to attend the conference “Small and medium-sized enterprises - regional networking and business improvement“.
 
The main objective of the Conference was to boost SME development in the CEI region through exchange of knowledge and good practices, networking and dialogue with public officials in support of a business-friendly environment.
 

Under the Macedonian CEI Presidency 2015, the Business Forum on “Promotion of Regional Cooperation for Improving Market Competitiveness of CEI Agricultural and Food Business” was held in Skopje on 26 November 2015. The event gathered more than 90 high-ranking participants from the various CEI Ministries of Agriculture, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises and Embassies in Skopje.

Representatives from 16 tourist destinations in 7 countries, namely Lezhe and Tirana (Albania); Tuzla and Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Sofia (Bulgaria); Zadar and Varazdin (Croatia); Stip and Ohrid (Macedonia); Baau, Costinesti and Bucharest (Romania); Novi Sad, Sremski Karlovci, Arandjelovac and Belgrade (Serbia) gathered in Bucharest on 30 October 2014 to attend the second SEEMORE Central European Transfer Seminar.

The final results of the project ADRIA A (Accessibility and Development for the Re-launch of the Inner Adriatic Area) were presented on the occasion of the Final Conference of the Project on 23 October 2014 in Trieste. The project is funded by the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Italy -Slovenia 2007-2013.
 

On 8 October 2014, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) organised a high-level meeting in Vienna on “Protection of Europe’s Network from Natural and Man-made Disasters ” in the framework of activities of its Economic and Environmental Committee.

The final conference of the ADRIA A Project, taking place in Trieste on 23 October, will close a four-year activity programme: It has brought together the main Italian and Slovenian authorities in the field of transport, namely the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Italian Ministry of Transport, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and the Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure and Land Use Planning together with local authorities, the ports of Trieste and Koper and several pa

The CEI took part in the 4th WIDER Steering Committee Meeting which took place in Civitanova Marche (Italy) on 4 and 5 June 2014. Organised by the project lead partner, SVIM Marche from Italy, the meeting gathered all project partners as well as a number of Local Innovation Community (LIC) experts.
 

The 3rd WIDER Steering Committee Meeting took place in Faro (Portugal) on 15-16 April 2014. Organised by the Portuguese project partner - the University of Algarve - in the framework of the WIDER Project, the meeting gathered all project partners as well as a few Local Innovation Community (LIC) experts.

The ACROSSEE Project aims at establishing a large and coherent platform that will contribute to rationalising and optimising the existing transport network in South-East Europe (SEE). It is promoted by the CEI through its Secretariat as Lead Partner, in cooperation with 24 partner institutions from 13 countries and co-financed by the SEE transnational programme.

Within the EU-funded project entitled “Improving Cooperation in SEE by Actions for Strengthening the RCC” a Regional Sector Stakeholders’ Conference on Creative Industry was organised by the CEI in Sarajevo on 29 January, 2014.  

More than fifty participants from South-eastern Europe attended the gathering to debate the role of design in the Balkan region, as an advantage for innovation in many fields, from spatial planning to cultural communication and marketing of manufacturers’ outputs.