The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Central European Initiative (CEI) held their annual meeting in Gödöllő (Hungary) on 31 October 2013. The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, the 2013 Hungarian CEI Presidency, in cooperation with the CEI Executive Secretariat. The event was held back to back with the Visegrad Group + Western Balkans (WB) Foreign Ministers Meeting organised on 30-31 October in Gödöllő.

The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. János Martonyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and was attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Deputy Ministers, State Secretaries of Foreign Affairs and high representatives of Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Ukraine also attended the meeting. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in the capacity of the President of the Council of the European Union, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs of the USA and the representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) were present at the meeting as Special Guests. Ms Margit Waestfelt, Alternate Secretary General of CEI and the Deputy Secretaries General also participated in the meeting.

The Ministers had a fruitful discussion on “The Mission of the CEI on the Eve of its 25th Anniversary”. In this context, they praised the role of the CEI as an important political forum for regional cooperation which contributes to strengthening the relations among its Member States.

The Ministers welcomed a number of important developments regarding the progress of respective countries on their European path. In this regard, they supported and encouraged the relevant non-EU CEI Member States to ensure further steps forward in meeting the criteria required in the process of the EU Enlargement and to develop further the partnership with the EU. At the same time, the Ministers asked the CEI Member States, which are also EU Member States, to continuously contribute to the European integration process of the CEI countries aspiring to EU membership and closer relations with the EU, through the EU institutions. To this end, the Ministers affirmed that “Regional Cooperation for European Integration” remains CEI’s basic aim and mission. They reiterated the need for the CEI to closely cooperate with other regional bodies in this endeavour. Furthermore, the Ministers supported the idea to strengthen the role of the CEI as “a Bridge between Macroregions”. In this context, they acknowledged the particular attention paid to existing and future EU macro-regional strategies as well as initiatives which could have a favourable impact on the whole CEI region.

The Ministers praised the CEI’s project-oriented cooperation approach, thanks to its various funds and instruments of cooperation, which has provided support for the creation of a successful model for regional cooperation needed for the support of the dialogue and economic growth of the countries of the region, especially of the non-EU CEI Member States. In particular, the Ministers stressed that the CEI Fund at the EBRD, financed by Italy, had played a key role in this process and represented a considerable asset for cooperation throughout the entire region. The Ministers expressed their gratitude to the Italian Government for granting a new replenishment to the Fund of 1 million Euro for 2013, regardless of the national budgetary constraints. The Ministers also praised the importance of the CEI Know-How Exchange Programme (KEP), financed by the Italian CEI Fund at the EBRD and the Austrian Development Cooperation, aimed at supporting the transfer of know-how and best practices from EU to non-EU CEI Member States. The Ministers also expressed their satisfaction with the results of the CEI Cooperation Fund and adopted the scale of national contributions of the Member States for 2014, remaining on the level of the previous year. Moreover, the Ministers acknowledged the important results achieved by the CEI EU funded projects implemented or under implementation and look forward to starting newly approved projects. According to the Ministers, the continuous activities in this context would bring about strengthened relations with the European Commission (EC), with the final aim of reaching a cooperation agreement.

The Ministers expressed their support to the new CEI Plan of Action 2014-2016, to be adopted by the Heads of Government. They were particularly pleased with the clear definition of CEI’s mission and strategic objectives, including measures for its structural and financial strengthening as well as for enhancing its visibility. They believed that this document, which is aligned with the entry into force of the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, could enhance cooperation in a number of areas in order to make a contribution towards a knowledge-based, sustainable and inclusive economy, in line with the provisions of the EU 2020 Strategy and would be conducive to the EU Enlargement.

The Ministers commended the efforts made by the CEI Executive Secretariat, the 2013 Hungarian CEI Presidency and the CEI Member States in developing a new concept for the CEI Business Dimension. The Ministers agreed upon revisiting the CEI Business Dimension and introducing a new approach, aimed at addressing the specific needs of the SMEs on the one hand and those of the Large Industry on the other. The renewed CEI Business Dimension shall be an effective tool meeting the needs of the business communities within the CEI region and shall serve to promote growth through enhanced business interaction.

The Ministers highly appreciated the priorities (visibility, sustainable growth, mobility and inclusion) and the programme of the 2013 Hungarian CEI Presidency. Stepping up efforts in order to clear the regulatory and infrastructural bottlenecks hampering closer economic interactions and more extensive human contacts, represents a strategic objective within the wider Central Europe region. Moreover, providing higher CEI-visibility and attention to the Organization also in countries outside the CEI-region is an aspiration shared by all CEI Member States.

The Ministers extended their best wishes to the incoming 2014 Austrian CEI Presidency. They pledged their full cooperation and support to Austria.

The Ministers noted with satisfaction that under the newly elected management, the CEI Executive Secretariat could and was eager to play a decisive role in the fulfilment of the tasks of the Organisation. In this regard, full support of the Member States was expressed to the new Secretary General, Alternate and Deputy Secretary Generals in executing their important duties.

The Ministers also expressed their gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary and the CEI Executive Secretariat for the excellent organisation of the Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CEI Member States in Gödöllő.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)