MEDIA ADVISORY
Date: October 10, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Venue: Trg BiH 1, Building of the State Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Contact/further information: Stability Pact's Spokesperson Mr Georgi Gotev (Tel: +32-2-401 87 25 or mobile +32-499-528 725, press@stabilitypact.org), orMr Fahrudin Dosljak, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, tel +387 33 281 125, Fahrudin.Dosljak@mvp.gov.ba
Theme of the event:
A ceremony will be held to celebrate the selection of Sarajevo as the site of the Regional Co-operation Council Secretariat and the recent signing of the Host County Agreement (HCA). The HCA provides the RCC Secretariat with legal personality and capacity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the decisions taken by the countries of the region, the RCC will take over the activities of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe by the end of February 2008. The decisions on the statute of the RCC have been taken by the Heads of State and Government of the SEECP in Zagreb on May 11, 2007.
Among those invited to participate in this important regional event are the SEECP Participating Countries, Donor countries of the RCC, the European Union, represented by the Troika – the Council, the Commission and the Presidency, as well as Erhard Busek, Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Hido Biščević, appointed Secretary General of RCC.
Programme:
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
10,15 – 10,50 -The Building of the Greek and B&H Friendship, Trg BiH 1, V floor, Visit to the RCC Secretariat’s premises, guests greeted by H.E. Mr. Sven Alkalaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
11, 00– 11, 45 The Building of the State Institutions of B&H, Trg BiH 1,
White Hall (second floor) - Address by H.E. Dr Nikola Špirić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Address by special guests:
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Dr Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for SEE
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Mr. Hido Biščević, RCC Secretary General
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Mr. Lyubomir Kyuchukov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, representing the Bulgarian SEECP Chairmanship-in office
11.45-12.00 – Press Conference The Building of the State Institutions of B&H, Trg BiH 1, White Hall (second floor)
Background:
The RCC, successor to the Stability Pact, will bring together SEECP Participating States and UNMIK/Kosovo, together with the European Union and the wider international donor community, thus preserving the character of the Pact’s Regional Table, a unique setting where the region and the international community co-operate on an equal footing. The RCC will therefore take over the key tasks of the SP in facilitating regional co-operation, supporting the European and Euro-Atlantic integration efforts of the region and at the same time being a forum for continued involvement of the donor community; all of that under the leadership of the region itself. Mr. Hido Biscevic, a high ranking diplomat from Croatia, was appointed as the first Secretary General of the RCC. Some 30 officials will work in the RCC and a process of recruitment is already in place. The countries from the region are covering one third of the costs of the RCC Secretariat, the remaining two thirds being covered by the European Commission and other donors. Bosnia and Herzegovina provides the headquarters of the RCC at no cost.
The RCC, which would emulate long standing regional efforts in Europe and the world, will sustain co-operation in the agreed priority areas, as follows:
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Economic and Social Development;
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Infrastructure;
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Justice and Home Affairs;
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Security Co-operation;
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Building Human Capital;
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As well as Parliamentary Co-operation as an overarching theme.
The transition from the Stability Pact to the RCC will set the stage for a new era of co-operation in South Eastern Europe, one of real regional ownership. The Stability Pact is committed to give the necessary support to the new Secretary General to ensure a smooth handover to the RCC, in February 2008. By handing over to the RCC the functions that the Pact performed so far, it is also the spirit of the Pact that is being transferred, and its legacy as a unique forum for co-operation in the region and between the region and the international community.
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