The CEI Committee of National Coordinators Committee gathered in Belgrade on 27 February for their first meeting under the Serbian Presidency 2025.
The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Stojanovic - who opened the session - expressed Serbia’s pride in taking on the leadership role for 2025 and outlined the specific priorities for the year, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, connectivity and labor migration. He also reaffirmed Serbia's commitment to stability, economic prosperity and to an innovative approach.
The CEI Secretary General, Hon. Franco Dal Mas, for whom this was the first CNC meeting in this role since taking up his duties on 1 January 2025, reaffirmed his commitment to implementing the Organisation's strategic objectives.
“In these challenging times, the CEI must not only continue its work but accelerate its efforts to deliver visible outcomes,” Dal Mas stated, stressing the importance of continued cooperation.
The Serbian Presidency expressed its commitment to building on the CEI’s past successes and working closely with all Member States to further the Organisation’s goals with European integration as a top political priority, alongside security.
During the meeting, the National Coordinators were briefed on Serbia’s Presidency programme for 2025, which outlines key political meetings planned throughout the year, including the MFA Meeting and the CEI Summit of the Heads of Government, as well as other high-level and expert meetings around the priorities.
The CNC also received information on a project on security and judicial diplomacy, with a focus on combating corruption and organised crime, co-led by the Presidency and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. MFA Representatives Raffaele Langella and Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini presented the Falcone-Borsellino Programme aimed at improving collaboration among CEI member countries in the fight against cross-border organised crime. The programme includes training courses and joint actions to develop the institutional capacities of countries in preventing and combating criminal networks, in line with EU standards.
Another notable part of the meeting was the presentation by the Balkan Economic Forum (BEF) on the Balkan Socioeconomic Integration Index (BSEII), a project aimed at improving regional integration in the Balkans.
Additionally, the meeting included the presentation of candidacies for the selection of two new Deputy Secretaries General from Ukraine and Serbia, as well as the reappointment of the current Deputy Secretary General from Hungary, Zsuzsanna Kiraly. This marks a strong signal of involvement of the CEI member states in the CEI activities.
In the spirit of the Presidency’s motto “Connect, Integrate, Innovate”, the meeting concluded with a number of pledges for future joint cooperative initiatives and upcoming appointments, including strengthening relations with EU. To this end, the next CNC Meeting will be held in Brussels in spring.
For more info: arsova@cei.int
