SARAJEVO – The 29 members of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board discussed today in Sarajevo further strategic prioritization of activities of the organization and gave full support to its Secretariat in these efforts.

At the last Board meeting this year, the RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic submitted a report on the activities of the RCC Secretariat in the September-December period, as well as on the plans in the forthcoming quarter.

Secretary General Biscevic informed the Board of the RCC contribution to constructive political atmosphere in South East Europe, keeping the all-inclusive character of regional cooperation as well as strengthening concrete and targeted regional cooperation.

“I hope our discussion at today’s meeting will help us enhance the role of the RCC in 2010 and beyond in order to make it even more harmonised with the priorities of the RCC members and EU accession instruments – overall social and economical development of the region going hand-in-hand with the European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes”, Biscevic said.

He stressed that the Secretariat successfully worked with its members on a number of projects in the priority areas of economic and social development, infrastructure and energy, justice and home affairs, security cooperation, building human capital and parliamentary cooperation in South East Europe.

“These efforts have supported investment climate and regional trade, women entrepreneurship, infrastructure development, fight against corruption and organized crime, cooperation on higher education, disaster preparedness and prevention, as well as further streamlining of activities of regional taskforces and initiatives.“

The RCC Secretary General stressed the importance for the region of a high-level conference on the Western Balkans to be organized by the Swedish EU Presidency and the European Commission, in cooperation with the RCC, in Brussels on 9 December. The event will focus on the financial situation in South East Europe and the importance of regional cooperation in overcoming the economic crisis. It will be hosted by the Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, and the Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn.

The RCC Board further authorized the Secretary General to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the RCC Secretariat and the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group of the South-Eastern Europe, on cooperation in the area of agriculture, rural and economic development, environmental protection and food safety.

The report on the activities of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat is available HERE.

The RCC Board meets quarterly and provides the RCC with operational guidance and supervision. It consists of those RCC members contributing to the budget of the RCC Secretariat as well as the European Union, represented by the Troika, consisting of the EU Presidency, the European Commission and the Council Secretariat.