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In response to the extremely dire and worrying humanitarian emergency in Ukraine, a CEI Member State, the CEI has decided to provide support to the people, affected by the conflict in Ukraine, through a humanitarian contribution of 80,000 EUR to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

On 15 March, a delegation from the CEI-Executive Secretariat headed by Secretary General Roberto Antonione met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani in Skopje. 

On 4 March, CEI Secretary General Roberto Antonione and the President of ALDA the European Association of Local Democracy, Oriano Otočan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Trieste.

We at the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative (CEI) take note with great regret of the fact that the recent developments have severely hampered the CEI's mission, undermining its strategic goals and principle objectives, and diminishing the results achieved in more than 30 years since its establishment.
In this difficult moment, as Secretary General of the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative, I wish to express our solidarity with Ukraine and its people, and our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, a valuable Member State of the CEI. I hope the respect for the principles of international law may still prevail. Condemning the military action against Ukraine, we stand by its Government and citizens. - SG Roberto Antonione

The 1st Committee of National Coordinators Meeting under the Bulgarian CEI Presidency was held in Trieste on 23 February.

A delegation of the CEI-Executive Secretariat, led by the Secretary General Roberto Antonione, visited Sofia today for consultations on the priorities and programme of this year’s Bulgarian CEI Presidency.

The newly approved CEI-led ADRIPASS PLUS project kicked off its activities with a first online consortium meeting on 20 January, setting its deadlines and activities.

The CEI Award 2022 at the Trieste Film Festival (TSFF) goes to the Serbian director Milica Tomović for her film Kelti (Celts). It was presented by Zoran Jovanovic, Special Advisor to the CEI Secretary General on the occasion of the awarding ceremony held in Trieste on 24 January.
In the framework of International Migrants Day 2021, CEI Deputy Secretary General Nina Kodelja virtually took part in an event on 17 December, organised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The project aimed at promoting the integration between the European and the Balkan regional electricity market by strengthening the capacities of the national regulatory authorities of project beneficiary countries to manage the process of market coupling between their national electricity market primarily with the Italian electricity market in accordance with the EU best practices.
The video gives an overview of the health ecosystem in the region as well as the relevant regional policies. It is divided into an initial part presenting regional health policies, followed by a brief illustration of the intelligent specialisation strategy.
A special event dedicated to the endorsement of the WHO “Roadmap for Health and Well-being in the Western Balkans (2021-2025)” took place with the participation of the Prime Ministers or their representatives of the CEI Member States of the Western Balkans, the CEI Secretary General and the Regional Director of WHO Europe.
The event was held at a crucial moment for the region, in particular in jointly facing the consequences of the pandemic and the current and future challenges.
Risks and uncertainties in the business community, green and circular economy and digital transformation were among the main topics of discussion of the Economic Conference Montenegro 2021, held in Budva on 2-3 December prior to the CEI Summit - the concluding event of the CEI Montenegrin Presidency taking place on 3 December.
SG Roberto Antonione joined the session on “EU enlargement, national and international policies" along with representatives from other key international and regional organisations. He emphasised that regional cooperation strongly fostered to facilitate political dialogue, can only be seen as a strategic contribution to accelerate the enlargement process.
The conference aimed at implementing the “Roadmap for Health in the Western Balkans (2021-2025)”, one of the priorities identified by the "European Work Programme, 2020-2025 - United Action for Better Health", of the WHO Europe Office; and at facilitating knowledge exchange for developing the potential of the social and health care systems.

On 12 November, the CEI-Executive Secretariat in cooperation with the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, officially launched the CEI Local Dimension in Podgorica in the framework of the Montenegrin CEI Presidency.

The South East Europe Media Forum - one of the major media events in Central and Eastern Europe bringing editors, media CEOs, journalists, experts and politicians together - took place in Belgrade on 3-4 November 2021.
Sadeta Bajrović from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Milica Vojinović from Serbia are the winners of this year’s CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism, promoted by the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO). Nermina Kuloglija from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vlad Odobescu from Romania have received a special mention.
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