Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić 12 June 2019 in Trieste attended a ministerial meeting of the Central European Initiative (CEI).
The theme of the plenary session held as part of Italy’s presidency was thirty years since establishing the CEI and looking to the future: a common vision, common values, European standards, strong regional cooperation. Also participating in the session was CEI Secretary-General Roberto Antonione.
Participants adopted decisions on CEI’s presidency in 2020, the amount of contributions by each member state to the CEI cooperation fund for 2020 and endorsed the annual report by CEI secretary-general for 2018 as well as adopted the Trieste Declaration
In her address, Pejčinović Burić underscored the importance of regional cooperation as one of the preconditions in the process of European integration and one of the CEI’s strategic objectives.
Along with priority areas of cooperation within the CEI framework (EU enlargement, transfer of know-how, migration, economic, cultural and parliamentary cooperation, strengthening the CEI’s synergy with other regional and international organisations), Pejčinović Burić underlined the importance of empowering young people as well as further strengthening the "local dimension" of cooperation within the Initiative.