1. History and functioning principles
The South-East European Cooperation Process is a non-institutionalized regional co-operation structure. It was created in 1996, when Bulgaria organized a meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs, to lay the foundation of a new co-operation forum, following the birth of new countries in the Balkans.
SEECP can be considered the successor of the co-operation in the Balkan region, initiated by Nicolae Titulescu between the 2 world wars, materialised by the adoption of the Pact of Balkan Agreement - Pacte d'Entente Balcanique in 1934, and continued after the 2nd World War under the form of conferences of Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Albania, Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania and Turkey.
Participating States: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, FYROM, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey, founding countries; Bosnia and Herzegovina (February 2001); Croatia has an observer status and will formalize its participation during the Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office (2004-2005), by signing the Bucharest Charter (Charter of Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe); Republic of Moldova applied for observer status.
At first, the annual meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs were the main SEECP political forum: Sofia, 1996; Thessaloniki, 1997; Istanbul, 1998; Bucharest, 1999 - special meeting dedicated to the Kosovo situation, where participated Bulgaria, Greece, FYROM, Romania and Turkey; Bucharest, 1999; Ohrid, 2000; New York, 12 September 2000 - on the occasion of the Millennium UN General Assembly; Tirana, 2001 and 2002; Belgrade, 19 June 2002 and 9 April 2003; Sarajevo, 9 June 2003.
Greece organized the first Meeting of the Heads of State and Government from South East Europe, on 2-4 November 1997, in Crete. Subsequently, SEECP Heads of State and Government Summit became the main political forum, being organized on an annual basis: Antalya, 12-13 October, 1998; Bucharest, 12 February 2000; Skopje, 25 October 2000 - special meeting when FR of Yugoslavia (presently, Serbia and Montenegro) was re-engaged in the SEECP structures; Skopje, 23 February 2001; Tirana, 28 March 2002, Belgrade, 9 April 2003.
The Political Directors from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the SEECP Participating States meet four times a year with a view to implementing the decisions adopted at the high level meetings (Heads of State and Government) or ministerial meetings, and to preparing the documents to be adopted.
According to the rotation principle, the Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) is held for a year (as a rule, from April to March) and is represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of each participating State. The Chairmanship in office coordinates the SEECP secretariat activities, organizes the annual high level meetings as well as the political directors meetings and other SEECP activities. At the same time, the Chairman-in-Office represents SEECP at the international meetings and hosts the scheduled meetings (Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Committee of Political Directors). Depending on evolutions in the region, the Chairmanship-in-Office may convene special meetings.
The SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office was held by Greece (1997), Turkey (1998), Romania (April 1999 - March 2000), FYROM (2000-2001), Albania (2001-2002), FR of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro, 2002-2003), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003-2004).
The present CiO is held by Romania (2004-2005). SEECP Troika is currently composed of: Romania, as Chairman-in-Office, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as former Chairman-in-Office and Greece as future Chairman-in-Office (2005-2006).
During the former Romanian CiO (April 1999 - March 2000), SEECP was acknowledged as the organization that rose awareness of the advantages of this regional initiative co-operation for NATO and EU. That is why in North-Atlantic Alliance Council Declaration (Washington, April, 1999), NATO considered the SEECP activity complementary to its own actions of maintaining peace, stability and security in South-Eastern Europe. EU also included the SEECP on the participants list to the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (Cologne and Sarajevo, June-July, 1999).
One of the most important contribution of the Romanian CiO was the signing of the "Charter on Good-Neighborly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe" (Bucharest, February 12, 2000), which is the fundamental document of this regional structure of co-operation.
As a forum of political dialog and consultations, SEECP represents an important instrument for promoting the interest of the Participating States regarding the accession to the European and Euro-Atlantic political and economic structures. At the same time, the returning of Serbia and Montenegro in the SEECP framework allows a unitary approach of the regional issues in the spirit of the Charter on Good-Neighborly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe.
At the SEECP meetings decisions are adopted by consensus.
At the SEECP meetings representatives of international organizations and institutions such as EU and European Commission Presidency, OSCE, BSEC and CEI Chairmanship, Stability Pact, Council of Europe, UN, WTO, UN/ECE, World Bank, EBRD, EIB may participate as guests of the Chairmanship-in-Office.
The practice of the Chairmanship-in-Office to invite "special invitees" has lately been extended, which made possible for Republic of Moldova to participate to the SEECP Summit of the Heads of State and Government (Belgrade, 9 April 2003), SEECP Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Sarajevo, 9 June 2003) and SEECP informal Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Sarajevo, 20 April 2004).
2. Objectives, areas of activity
The basic document of the SEECP activity is the Charter of Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe signed in Bucharest on 12 February 2000, representing a major and substantial political document, a premiere in conducting relations among the countries in this part of Europe. Thus, SEECP becomes a credible partner for the future, for the international community. The Bucharest Charter represents a comprehensive framework for regional cooperation in domains of common interest, aiming at strengthening the good neighborly relations among all the States in the area, turning it into a region of peace, security, stability and collaboration. SEECP was conceived as an expression of solidarity among the States in the area, able to transmit to the international community a coherent and credible message regarding the ways to solve the problems the countries confront with.
During the Romanian Chairmanship-in-Office, a Regional Parliamentary Conference for South Eastern Europe at the level of Presidents of the Committees for Foreign Affairs/European Integration from the Parliaments of the SEECP countries will take place. The development of the parliamentary dimension in the SEECP framework of co-operation is under way and is marked by meetings of the Presidents of the Committees for Foreign Affairs of the National Parliaments. The first meeting of the Presidents of the National Parliaments took place in Athens, in 1997, while the last took place in Sarajevo, on 27 March 2004. On 9-11 May 2003, in Budva (Montenegro) a first meeting of the parliamentary women from the SEECP countries took place.
The defining element of the SEECP is the fact that it represents the only forum in the South East Europe created and managed exclusively by the States of the region ("regional ownership"), as a means to significantly contribute to the improvement of the political climate in an area which has been confronted, for many years, with conflicts. In this context, the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions pay a priority attention to the situation and issues in the SEECP region. Thus, on the occasion of the European Council in Thessaloniki (21st June 2003), an EU-Western Balkans Summit was, for the first time, organized, where five SEECP countries participated: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM, Serbia and Montenegro. This event confirmed the European perspective for the above-mentioned group of countries, thus, joining the other SEECP States (Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey).
A very important extension of sectorial co-operation at ministerial level has lately been recorded. Under the SEECP Chairmanship of Serbia and Montenegro (April 1, 2002-March 31, 2003), a series of sectorial meetings at ministerial level were organized, to which Romania actively participated: Conference of the Ministers of Trade and Development (Belgrade, 7-8 October 2002), Conference of the Ministers of Telecommunications (Belgrade, 28-29 October 2002), Conference of the Ministers of Interior (Belgrade, 3-4 March 2003). Co-operation at ministerial level continued during the former SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office (Bosnia and Herzegovina), which organized the first ministerial meeting in the framework of the general political debates of the 58th session of the UN General Assembly (New-York, 29 September 2003). The Bosnian Chairmanship-in-Office, in co-operation with the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SPSEE), also organized a number of sectorial meetings at ministerial level, in priority areas, especially established for the Western Balkans countries, such as: Meeting of the Ministers of Justice (Sarajevo, 27-28 October 2003), Meeting of the Ministers of Trade, with the support of the EU Italian Presidency (Rome, 13 November 2003), Meeting of the Ministers of Energy (Athens, 8-9 December 2003), Meeting of the Ministers of Defense (Sarajevo, 14-15 April 2004).
There are several major themes on the agenda of the SEECP meetings, such as:
- measures for enhancement of the stability, security and good neighborly relations;
- measures for intensifying the multilateral, economic and commercial co-operation in the area, especially on the transborder co-operation, the improvement of transportation, communications and energy infrastructures, investments and trade promotion;
- the promotion of co-operation in the humanitarian, social and cultural fields;
- co-operation in Justice and Home Affairs issues, for combating the organized crime, illicit traffic of drugs and guns, terrorism.
3. Main dimensions of the SEECP
At the high level meeting in Skopje (February, 2001), SEECP Participating States adopted, for the first time, a document on economic collaboration called "Action plan for the economic regional cooperation". This action-oriented document gives to the SEECP the possibility to have, for the first time, its own portfolio regarding the intensification of the economic co-operation in South-Eastern Europe.
The establishment of the regional market of energy: in Athens (November 15, 2002), at the Meeting of the Ministers of Energy, it was signed a "Memorandum of Agreement", regarding the energy regional market in South-Eastern Europe. One of the main targets of the agreement is the integration of the regional electrical systems in the EU system, till the year 2005, in accordance with the requirements of the EU directive regarding electricity.
