Governmental Dimension

Yesterday 17 July 2019, on the occasion of the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development 2019, the Central European Initiative – Executive Secretariat, in cooperation with the CEI Italian Presidency, the Italian Permanent Mission to the UN, organised a side-event on  “The contribution of regional cooperation and partnerships to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda: the experience of the Central European initiative (CEI)“.

On 20 June in Strasbourg, SG Roberto Antonione met with the Council of Europe Group on External relations (CoE GR-EXT), which prepares the decisions of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the field of external relations.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CEI Member States held their annual meeting in Trieste (Italy) on 12 June 2019 under the Italian CEI Presidency. The gathering - entitled Central European Initiative at thirty and towards the future: common vision, shared values, European standards, strong regional cooperation - was chaired by H.E. Enzo Moavero Milanesi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, who reconfirmed his country's commitment to the CEI mission and objectives.

On 1-3 April 2019, CEI Secretary General Roberto Antonione and a delegation of the CEI-Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES), including Alternate Secretary General Antal Nikoletti, Deputy Secretary General Zoran Jovanovic and senior officers, visited Poland and Belarus, and had meetings with high government officials of the two countries.

On 4-6 March, CEI Secretary General Roberto Antonione and a delegation of the CEI-Executive Secretariat - including Deputy Secretary General Nina Kodelja and some senior officers - visited Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and had high-level meetings with government representatives.

The 1st Committee of National Coordinators' meeting, held in Rome on 22 February, was opened by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enzo Moavero Milanesi. He singled out some of the priorities of the Italian CEI Presidency, in particular: strengthening cooperation with the EU, especially the European Commission; better exploiting the CEI's observer status at the UN; exploring ways to extend cooperation with local and regional entities. 

On 19 February, CEI Secretary General Roberto Antonione and a delegation from the CEI-Executive Secretariat visited Slovenia. They met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Miro Cerar and the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Simona Leskovar, as well as with the President of the National Assembly of Slovenia, Dejan Židan, the Head and the members of the Slovene delegation to the CEI Parliamentary Dimension and the General Manager of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On 15 February 2019, a delegation of the Western Balkans Fund (WBF) composed of Executive Director, Gjergj Murra; a Senior Official from the MFA of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milos Prica; and Programme Manager, Dafina Beqiri, visited the CEI-Executive Secretariat in Trieste. They met with CEI Secretary General, Roberto Antonione; Alternate SG, Antal Nikoletti; Deputy SG, Nina Kodelja, and some senior officers. 

A delegation of the CEI-Executive Secretariat, led by Secretary General Roberto Antonione, including the Deputy Secretary General Nina Kodelja and some senior officers, visited Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia on 5-7 February and met with a number of high-level government representatives.

The Heads of Government of the CEI Member States met in Zagreb on 3-4 December 2018 for their Summit, the top political event in the framework of the Initiative.

The 3rd CNC Meeting held under the CEI Croatian Presidency took place in Trieste, at the CEI HQ, on 30 May.  The participants focused on recent and forthcoming events of both the CEI Presidency and of the Secretariat, in particular on the preparation of the Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs in Split on 11 June.  

The CEI’s annual Steering Committee (SC) meeting and the CEI Committee of National Coordinators (CNC) meeting under the Croatian Presidency, took place at the Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London on 19 April. 

The first meeting of the Committee of National Coordinators (CNC) under the Croatian CEI Presidency 2018 took place in Zagreb on 16 February.

During the gathering, Croatia presented its priorities and Calendar of Events, i.e. the high-level meetings planned throughout the year. The CEI Secretariat briefed the CNC on its recent and upcoming activities.
 
Special attention was also paid to the activities planned for enhancing cooperation among and between the Member States, with the EC as well as with other international institutions.
 

The Meeting of the Heads of Government of the 18 CEI Member States (CEI Summit) took place in Minsk on 12 December, back to back with the last CNC Meeting under the Belarusian CEI Presidency.
 

This year’ s Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, under the Belarusian CEI Presidency, was opened in Minsk on 22 June by H.E Vladimir Makei, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.  

Considering the multifold regional challenges and developments, the Meeting focused on the increased role of the CEI Member States in promoting connectivity and interoperability among various integration processes in a Wider Europe.

The CEI Steering Committee (SC) and the CEI Committee of National Coordinators (CNC) met on 6 April at the Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London.

The Meeting of the Heads of Government of the 18 CEI Member States (CEI Summit) took place in Sarajevo today, 13 December, back to back with the last CNC Meeting under the BiH CEI Presidency.

Participants exchanged views on the European integration process in the light of the migration crisis as well as on infrastructural connectivity of the CEI Region as a precondition for sustainable development and regional and European integration processes.

The fifth CEI Committee of National Coordinators (CNC) meeting under the BiH Presidency, in Trieste on 11 October, paid special attention to recent and upcoming events both of the CEI Presidency and of the Secretariat. With regard to the former, the outcome of the recent MFA Meeting held in New York on 22 September and the upcoming CEI Summit in November were highlighted. The Presidency also informed the CNC on the organisation of a CEI Business Forum taking place in November with the timber industry on top of its agenda.