Croatia has been presiding over the Central European Initiative (CEI) 1 January-31 December 2018, one of the oldest regional cooperation forums in Central and Eastern Europe. It was founded 1989 in Budapest and has 18 member states. Croatia is a member state since 1992 and chaired the Initiative for the first time in 1998.
The most important strategic goals of the CEI are supporting the member states along their path of European integration, stimulating alignment of CEI member states with the EU standards, and implementing small and mid-sized projects. The priorities of Croatia’s CEI presidency have been aligned with said goals and directed at issues of common interest to the member states, i.e. EU enlargement, economic and cultural cooperation, migration, cooperation between the CEI and other regional and international organizations, and parliamentary cooperation. The activities during Croatia’s presidency have contributed to the strengthening of multilateralism and cooperation through intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary and economic dimension.
In the past year a number of events have been organized in the areas of economy, transport, energy and culture, as well as conferences to present Croatia’s accession talk experiences, which provided an opportunity to affirm Croatian experts already participating in the transfer of know-how to the CEI member states that want to join the EU. This opened up new prospects for cooperation and joint involvement in EU-financed projects. For Croatia, the one-year CEI chairmanship was also an excellent preparation for the Council of the EU presidency in 2020, given that enlargement is going to be one of the priorities.
In line with said priorities of the CEI chairmanship, a number of international conferences and ministerial meetings have been held – two meetings of foreign minister and a meeting of regional development ministers – which provided an opportunity to exchange views on the future of the Initiative and concrete ways to enhance it.
The most important events during Croatia’s CEI chairmanship:
On 25 and 26 January 2018 in Zagreb, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs organized an expert meeting on capacity-building in the European integration process themed “Knowledge Sharing for Building Stronger Partnerships in the Process of European integration”.
Organized by the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, a professional conference was held on combined transport 29 April 2018 in Zagreb.
In the first half of June 2018, two ministerial meetings were held. Organized by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, a meeting was held 6 June 2018 in Zagreb on the strengthening of cohesion and competitiveness through regional cooperation.
On 11 June 2018, the annual meeting of the CEI foreign ministers was held in Split, hosted by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić. View the adopted communique here.
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The central cultural event of Croatia’s presidency was a concert held 14 August 2018 as part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival by the principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic Andreas Ottensamer and Argentinian pianist Jose Gallardo.
The traditional informal meeting of the CEI foreign ministers was held on the sidelines of the 73rd UNGA session 26 September 2018.
Zagreb 26 and 27 September 2018 hosted an international conference on “Energy Efficiency in Construction – for a Better Tomorrow”. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Construction and Spatial Planning to exchange experiences in energy efficiency, energy-efficient reconstruction and promotion of renewable energy.
On the occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology 25-27 October 2018 organized a two-day international conference on “Underwater Cultural Heritage in Europe Today” in Zadar. The goal was to identify key challenges, analyse their solutions, and stimulate further exploration of Europe’s rich and diverse underwater cultural heritage. The conference was organized as part of Croatia’s two current chairmanships – those of the CEI and the Council of Europe.
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The CEMAN Academic Orchestra held a concert 26 October 2018 in Zagreb’s Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, organized by the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory. The CEMAN (Central European Music Academies Network) was founded with the aim of student and teacher exchange, as well as the promotion of historical and cultural heritage of the CEI member states.
The Ministry of Tourism organized a professional conference on the “Cultural Routes of the Olive Tree as a Model of Europe’s Values, Heritage and Sustainable Development” held 14-16 November 2018 in Mali Lošinj.
Within parliamentary dimension, Zagreb 26 November 2018 hosted a meeting of the CEI Parliamentary Assembly on “Sustainable Tourism and Local Community – How to Strengthen Sustainability”. View the communique here.
The key and final event of Croatia’s presidency was a summit of the CEI member states’ heads of government, held 3 and 4 December 2018 in Zagreb. Concurrently, the CEI Business Forum was held 4 December 2018, attended by representatives of the member states’ chambers of economy and other interested parties.
The summit marked the end of Croatia’s CEI presidency, which saw further strengthening of bilateral and partner relations between Croatia and other CEI member states and contributed to its international positioning, opening up prospects for new projects and areas of cooperation in the future.
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The chairmanship of the CEI in 2019 was assumed by Italy.