South-East European Cooperation Process
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Kosovo
- Croatia
- Macedonia
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Turkey
English
February 27, 2008
The Regional Cooperation Council (English Regional Cooperation Council; Acronym: RCC) was established on 27 February 2008 on the initiative of Bulgaria as an international organization by and for the countries of South Eastern Europe. Purpose of the Council is to promote cooperation among countries and to serve as a unified voice of the region to the world. Likewise, the cooperation is to obtain a lasting peace and stability in the Balkans. The cooperation shall strengthen pro-European forces in the region and ensure a convergence of the states to the European Union. The RCC and the CEFTA, are seen together with individual Stabilisation and Association Agreement, ultimately, as a precursor to a possible EU accession. A total of 46 states, international organizations and banks participate in the Council. The headquarters of the RCC is located in Sarajevo.
Structure and objectives
With transformation of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe to the Regional Cooperation in 2008, the international organization for the first time got a fixed budget and secretariat in Sarajevo. About three million euros available to the RCC available each year, 40 % of which fund the South Eastern European Member States, 30% of the European Commission and 30 % by the other members.
Main priorities of the RCC are to improve neighborhood relations in the region and contribute to the countries of South Eastern Europe quickly reach all the EU accession criteria. In particular, the concerns of Southern Europe will be better heard in the EU.
Participating countries and organizations
At the RCC take 13 Southeast European states in part: the seven members of CEFTA, five members of the EU and Turkey:
Additional 33 members include Austria, Canada, the Euro Europe, the Council of Europe Bank, Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, European Union, Germany, Finland, Hungary, the International Organization for Migration, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, NATO, Norway, the Organization for economic Cooperation and Development, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Poland, Slovakia, the Southeast European Cooperative initiative, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Nations economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations development Programme United Nations, the United States and the world Bank.