News

The International high-level Conference on “Inter-basin Cooperation on Marine Litter: a focus on the Danube River and the Black Sea” took place in Sofia on 4 April. The event was organised by the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS).

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.

The meeting of the General Committee on Cultural Affairs of the CEI Parliamentary Dimension was held in Budapest on 29 March, under the leadership of Mr. Richard Horcsik, Chairperson of the Committee and Head of the Hungarian Delegation to the CEI Parliamentary Dimension.

In the framework of the CEI Know How Exchange Program (KEP) project for strengthening Energy Regulatory Authorities in the Western Balkans, on 29 March 2019, the CEI-Executive Secretariat hosted the first technical seminar aimed at sharing best practices and knowledge of EU procedures.

On 27-28 March 2019, the CEI-Executive Secretariat participated as Project Partner in the official kick-off meeting of the EU Project ICARUS (Intermodal Connections in Adriatic-Ionian Region to Upgrowth Seamless solutions for passenger) held in Venice.

Contemporary art curators and science communication experts from Central and Eastern Europe gathered, on Friday 15 March, at the ESOF2020 Headquarters (Sottostazione Elettrica) and at the CEI Headquarters, to discuss how to build bridges between the “two cultures”. The initiative is based on the close cooperation between the CEI, Fondazione Internazionale Trieste and Trieste Contemporanea.

On 12 March,  the CEI – Executive Secretariat, lead partner of the COME-IN! project, attended the launch event and the inauguration of the new exhibition of the Archeological Museum of Krakow “Prehistory for all”, which has undertaken works to make its museum more accessible.

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.

On 18 February, the CEI-Executive Secretariat participated in the first workshop and local dissemination event of the SECNET Project organised by the Trieste Port Authority - Port Network Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea - in its quality of Lead Partner. The event took place at its headquarters and gathered around thirty stakeholders from the public and private sector.

The 7th edition of the International Master in Public Procurement Management (IMPPM) will kick off at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome on 5 March. The IMPPM is jointly organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the University of Rome ToR Vergata (Italy) and co-financed by the CEI Fund at the EBRD contributed by Italy. At the opening ceremony, a keynote address will be delivered by Mr. Antonio Capobianco, Acting Head of the OECD Competion Division.

The First Committee of CEI National Coordinators' meeting was held in Rome on 22 February. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enzo Moavero Milanesi opened the gathering which witnessed the approval by the CEI National Coordinators of four technical cooperation projects to be supported by the CEI Fund at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), financed by Italy (2018 budget).

The second Blue Scenario Workshop of the BLUE_BOOST project was organised in Monfalcone on 22 February, at the Headquarters of MARE Technology Cluster FVG. The event focused on maritime transport and more specifically addressed the topic of sustainable mobility in coastal and inland waters.

On 10-13 February, the first practical laboratory on valuation of ecosystem services along with a workshop on identifying the institutional and economic barriers hindering the application of ecosystem services approach to local planning and resources management was held in Crocmaz, Moldova, in the framework of the CEI Know-how Exchange Programme (KEP) project We4Nature & Nature4us: AAs Enshrined Ecosystem Services. 

In the framework of the EU-funded project CONNECT2CE, coordinated by the CEI-Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES) as lead partner, by Trieste Trasporti and Slovenske Železnice (Slovenian railways) signed the agreement for the launch of a new cross-border integrated public transport service (bus/train) between Trieste and Ljubljana. The event took place at the CEI Headquarters in Trieste on 14 February.

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.

The 2nd Report on the implementation of EU macro-regional strategies  - from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - was adopted on 29 January.