Documents

Press Background:
The Scope of the Regional Conference
Bucharest, 25-26 October 2001

Bodo Hombach, the Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact, visited Romania on 25 and 26 September 2001. His meetings with President Iliescu, Prime Minister Nastase and Foreign Minister Geoana focused on the central issue of the forthcoming Regional Conference. Upon a strong recommendation of the SEECP and the advocacy of the Special Co-ordinator, the Conference is taking place in the region, 25 and 26 October 2001 in Bucharest. Hombach underlined that it is vital to use the remaining time effectively to ensure the success of the conference.

The Regional Conference has been designed to demonstrate the continued political and financial support of the International Community to the reform process in South Eastern Europe. It is therefore a conference at ministerial level. It is not a traditional donors' conference, but it will offer the opportunity for international institutions and other Stability Pact members to outline their plans to work with the region. The Conference, which is jointly organised by the Romanian Government as host, the European Commission / World Bank Joint Office and the Stability Pact, will focus on following topics:

• to present and assess further projects of all three Stability Pact Working Tables, which have found full financing;
• to explore ways to use the Stability Pact to promote more private sector activity, improve business conditions and increase foreign direct investment;
• to promote the further intensification of co-operation within the region;
• to use the Stability Pact as part of larger integration efforts of the countries of the region into Euro-Atlantic structures.

It will be the second time since the launch of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe in June 1999 that the political leaders of the region and the international donors community come together to signal their political commitment to reforms and regional co-operation and continued support for South Eastern Europe.

At the first Funding Conference held in March 2000 in Brussels, Euro 2.4 bn were pledged. This was to fund the so-called Quick Start Package with 244 projects under the Pact’s three Working Tables. By end of March 2001, 82% of these projects have been started.

With its various projects and initiatives in the framework of the three Working Tables (Human Rights and Democratisation; Economic Reconstruction, Development and Co-operation; Security and Defence Issues), the Stability Pact aims to establish a stable political and economical environment in the region.

For further information on Regional Conference, please visit: www.stabilitypact.org