With the signing of a Statement of Intent in Ljubljana, Ministers of SEE countries (Albania, BiH, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, FR Yugoslavia) today reaffirmed their intention to develop information societies in their respective countries by initiating regional actions, which follow the successful model of the eEurope and eEurope+ (EU plus accession countries). Bulgaria and Romania being equally members of eEurope+ and eSEE participated in today’s meeting and supported the Statement of Intent. Ministers agreed to rapidly introduce a new legislative and policy framework and to improve the capability of their countries to apply information technologies for better governance and economic development. The Statement of Intent was worked out as part of the Stability Pact's e SEE (electronic Southeast Europe) Initiative, which was launched at the Stability Pact Economics Working Table in Istanbul in October 2000. In order to facilitate implementation of the Statement of Intent, Ministers equally agreed to develop an ambitious regional action plan, called eSEE AGENDA, which shall be approved at a ministerial conference on Regulatory Frameworks in Telecommunications in Belgrade this autumn.

The European Union launched eEurope in Lisbon in May 2000. It was extended to also include candidate countries in Goteburg in June 2001. The signing today marks and important step to engage the countries of SEE in a similar process. In this respect Bulgaria and Romania, while as candidate countries already participating in eEurope+, are most welcome to share their experiences and best practices gained, with the other signatory countries. The Stability Pact's eSE Europe Initiative demonstrates regional ownership, as it is, since March 2002, chaired by FR Yugoslavia and is supported by UNDP through a regional secretariat based in Sarajevo. Yugoslavia as its chair today called upon the International community, especially the EU and its member states, to support the development of information society in SEE and to provide the necessary guidance.

The aim of eSEE Europe in general is to better integrate SEE countries into the global, knowledge-based economy by means of regionally supporting the development of information society, including benchmarks for best practice and the transfer of knowledge. The signing of the Statement of Intent took place on the occasion of the European Ministerial Conference on Information Society, 3 - 4 June 2002 in Ljubljana.