The RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic participated in the annual informal meeting of Heads of Government of Southeast European (SEE) countries organized by the Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in Salzburg on 27 July 2008.

The Prime Ministers from six SEE countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia) discussed key regional issues, including economic cooperation and effects of global energy crisis and climate changes on the region.

Secretary General Biscevic highlighted RCC priorities in the areas of economic and social development, infrastructure and energy, justice and home affairs, security cooperation and building human capital. He requested that the role of RCC National Coordinators from SEE be reinforced, as such a mechanism would strengthen cooperation in the priority areas. The Secretary General also informed of the present state of play of RCC networking with the European Commission and international financial institutions.

The participants hailed the arrest of the ICTY fugitive Radovan Karadzic and reiterated that European integration was the joint strategic goal of the region. Chancellor Gusenbaur stressed that EU enlargement to SEE had no alternative and that Austria would continue to be its strong advocate.