News
The CEI Parliamentary Committee Meeting took place in Belgrade under the Serbian Chairmanship on 19-22 May.
Delegations from 13 CEI Member States (Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Ukraine) participated.
The meeting of the Co-ordinators of the National Small Business Act (Istanbul, 17-18 May 2011), was the first meeting of the project on “Monitoring SME Policy Implementation in the Western Balkans”.
The participation of CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter in the Knowledge Economy Network Workshop in Gorizia (Italy), organised within the Alps – Adriatic and Danube Rectors’ Conferences on 13 May 2011, was an opportunity to illustrate the CEI contribution to the implementation of the Danube Strategy in the fields of education and science and technology.
On the occasion of the XI edition of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce Forum (AIC Forum) on 11-13 May in Budva CEI Alternate Secretary General Giorgio Rosso Cicogna and the President of the AIC Forum Jadranka Radovanic signed a Partnership Agreement.
On 12 May 2011, the CEI attended the Annual Conference of the South East Europe Programme in Sofia, Bulgaria.
A European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) was established by the Mayors of Gorizia, Nova Gorica and St. Peter Vrtojba in the presence of the CEI Secretary General on 13 May at the City Hall in Gorizia.
On May 13, 2011, the Conference of the Ministers for Agriculture of the Central European Initiative was opened in Belgrade by Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic.
In his speech, he emphasised his government’s commitment to the Organisation, during this year’s Serbian Presidency, acting as a promoter of regional cooperation for a closer European Integration in the field of agriculture as well as in other priority fields.
On 21 April 2011, CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter informed the President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region Renzo Tondo, on the preparations of the CEI Ministers of Foreign Affairs Meeting to be held in Trieste on 10 June. The Meeting will be chaired by H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia.
On 29-30 April 2011, CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter, and Serbian CEI National Coordinator, Amb. Zoran Popovic, participated in the International Conference on “Accepting Diversities: Human Rights and the Challenge of Reconciliation”.
On 20 April 2011 the representatives of several universities covering the Danube and Adriatic Region (Austria, Albania, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia) - which are also participating in the CEI University Network - gathered at the CEI Headquarters in order to explore possible cooperation in the field of education.
The International School on Nuclear Security, held in Trieste from 11 to 22 April, organised by the ICTP and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and co-sponsored by the CEI and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, focused on nuclear security-measures to prevent nuclear proliferation or sabotage, as well as the protection of nuclear materials.
The objective of the project FIT4SMES, co-financed by the CEI and by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and led by Informest, is to create a network of expertise for facilitating access to funds dedicated to small and medium enterprises in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
On 14 April the Secretary General of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce (AIC Forum), Mr Michele De Vita, and its General Manager, Mrs Luciana Frontini, met CEI Alternate Secretary General, Mr Giorgio Rosso Cicogna and the CEI Trust Fund Programme Manager, Mr Guido Paolucci, to discuss possible cooperation and joint projects.
CEI National Coordinators and EBRD Board Directors from CEI countries gathered at the Bank’s headquarters in London on the occasion of the CEI Steering Committee held on 5 April 2011, back to back with the CEI Committee of National Coordinators Meeting (CNC).
CEI Alternate Secretary General, Mr. Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, visited Belgrade on April 7 and 8, 2011 for consultations with the CEI Serbian Presidency in view of the organisation of several events to be held in the months to come.
On 6-7 April, CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter attended the meeting of the General Committee on Political and Home Affairs of the CEI Parliamentary Dimension in Rome.
On 30 March, at the CEI Headquarters, Mr. Franc Zepic from the Slovenian Ministry of Transport and Mr. Igor Mally from the Government Office for Development and European Affairs in Slovenia, met with CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter and his staff, for an exchange of views on possible ways of cooperation within the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).
On Monday 28 March 2011, CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Poland, Waldemar Pawlak, in order to discuss possible avenues of cooperation between the CEI and the incoming EU Polish Presidency.
The activities for the projects entitled “SAFE ADRIA” and “COOPERADRIA”, started last week with kick-off meetings in Venice, Italy, on the premises of the Consortium for the Intermodal and Logistics Training (CFLI), the training structure owned by the Venice Port Authority.
The Central European Initiative, in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised on 22-24 March, a meeting, in Trieste, with the ambassadors representing the CEI Member States accredited to Rome and with the Italian Ambassadors accredited to the CEI Member States.
The event was an opportunity to present a survey of the CEI activities carried out over the past years as well as to illustrate the steps taken in order to implement its core mission: regional cooperation for a European integration.