This booklet contains basic information on the most important aspects of the Central European Initiative such as its history, functioning, funds and instruments complemented by some facts and figures.
The Office for the CEI Fund at the EBRD has published an Impact Assessment and Analysis of the CEI Know-how Exchange Programme. The report reveales the success of the Programme in taking advantage of the transition experience of the recently admitted EU members to avoid obstacles and speed up processes in the CEI countries which aim at filling similar gaps.
The Retrospective Review has been recently released by the Secretariat for CEI Projects (CEI-PS) with the purpose of analysing the last 17 years of activity of the CEI Trust Fund at the EBRD. The Retrospective Review assessed how the CEI Trust Fund has been used and the impact it has created, through its three main programmes – the Technical Cooperation Programme, the Know-how Exchange Programme and the Cooperation Activities Programme. Based on this work, the authors identified some areas of improvement in the CEI-PS operations and proposed relevant solutions.
The CEI Plan of Action 2010-2012 has been extended for another year and therefore remains valid throughout the year 2013.
The Plan of Action constitutes a framework for development of activities and projects proposed or initiated by individual Member States, CEI Networks of Focal Points and other CEI bodies in the CEI areas of activity. Each area of activity contains a minimum of two and a maximum of four priorities, around which the proposed activities and projects should be developed. The Plan of Action 2010-2012 was adopted by the Heads of Government at their meeting in Bucharest on 13 November 2009.
The Impact Assessment of Energy Audits (EA) Programme has been prepared by the Programme Manager of the Secretariat for CEI projects. The publication presents the EA Programme funded by the CEI Trust Fund at the EBRD, in particular the audit's methodology and model as well as selected ex-post analysis of selected audits. The results of the analysis show the importance of Technical Assistance in raising the priority of energy efficiency projects within companies and to ensure that viable projects are incorporated into the companies long-term investment plan. Through its Programme the CEI has complemented the long-term funding provided by the EBRD, in this way enabling investments in projects that would otherwise be postponed or not implemented, and helping clients to increasingly unlock the potential for energy saving.
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary (1989-2009) of the CEI, the CEI Secretariats have prepared a special booklet containing the most important aspects of the organisation such as its history, functioning, funds and instruments as well as the cooperation with other organisations and initiatives and the future outlook of the CEI. It was presented for the first time at the high-level meetings in Bucharest, MFA Meeting and CEI Summit, held on 12-13 November 2009, respectively.
The CEI Climate Fund for Climate and Environmental Protection, established by the Heads of Government at their Summit meeting in Sofia in November 2007, aims at supporting projects in climate and environment protection in the 9 CEI Member States from South Eastern and Eastern Europe which are not EU members. The Fund is based on voluntary contributions and is administered by the CEI-Executive Secretariat in Trieste.
This special publication was elaborated on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the CEI Instrument for the Protection of Minority Rights (opened for signature in 1994) not only to pay tribute to one of the most important documents drafted within the CEI framework but also to go beyond that objective and prepare a more ambitious collection of data, commentaries and views as well as translations of the Instrument in various languages which could be useful to experts and interesting for the broader public.
