12th Meeting, Bucharest, 15-16 November 2006

The Stability Pact's biannual meetings of the Regional Table, its highest decision-making forum, and the three Working Tables on Democracy, Economy and Security met in the Romanian capital Bucharest on 15 and 16 November 2006 to move ahead with the implementation of the decisions taken by the Regional Table in Belgrade on a phased evolution of the Stability Pact into a more regionally owned, streamlined and effective regional co-operation framework in South Eastern Europe, the Regional Co-operation Council.

About 250 participants representing over 80 countries and organisations (including representatives of South Eastern European governments, EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the European Commission and the EU Presidency, the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo, OSCE, Council of Europe, OECD, World Bank, IMF and EBRD)  took decisions that will enable the transformation of the Stability Pact into a regionally-owned Regional Co-operation Council for implementation in the course of 2007 and for the new regional co-operation framework to be fully functional in the first half of 2008.

The meeting of the Regional Table took place on 16 November (9:00-15:00) and were preceded by a day (15 November) of theme-focused Working Table meetings (Working Table I - Democracy; Working Table II – Economy and Working Table III – Security) where the streamlining and transition into regional ownership of each of the 25 Stability Pact Initiatives and Task Forces will be debated.

• Stability Pact Annual Report 2006

Meeting of the Regional Table [16 November]

• Conclusions of the Regional Table
• Report on Regional Owenrship of SP Task Forces/Initiatives     
• Regional Annual Contribution to RCC Secretariat (2008-10)   
• Speech of the Special Co-ordinator
• Statements by the Delegations/Participants
  

• Agenda of the Regional Table Meeting   
• Invitation Letter
• Technical Information for the Meetings
  

Meetings of the Working Tables [15 November]

Speeches

• Speech by Chair of Working Table I Goran Svilanovic at the Meeting of Working Table I
• Speech by Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek at the Meeting of Working Table II
• Speech by Director of Working Table II Laurent Guye at the Meeting of WTII: Highlights and Transition Challenges for Working Table II
• Speech by Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek at the Meeting of Working Table III
• Speech by Chair of Working Table III Janez Premoze at the Meeting of Working Table III

11th Meeting, Belgrade, 29-30 May 2006

The Stability Pact's biannual Regional Table, its highest decision-making forum, met in Belgrade on 30 May to discuss issues of regional ownership.

About 300 participants representing over 80 countries and organisations (including representatives of South Eastern European governments, EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the European Commission and the European Council, NATO, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, OSCE, Council of Europe, OECD, World Bank, IMF and EBRD) debated the future of regional co-operation in SEE in general and the ownership process of the Stability Pact in particular.

In detail, the countries of South Eastern Europe agreed to take ownership of a new, more regionally-owned co-operation framework that will over the next year and a half assume the responsibilities of the Stability Pact. By early 2008 a new framework for regional co-co-operation called the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) will bring together representatives of South Eastern Europe, including UNMIK/Kosovo, with the representatives of the international community. This should ensure that the unique composition of the Stability Pact's Regional Table, where all countries participate on equal footing, is maintained.

By spring 2007, the countries of the region meeting in the framework of the South East Europe Co-operation Process (SEECP) should agree to nominate a new Secretary General, who should be a strong political leader from the region. His role should be to head the Secretariat of the RCC and support the Chairmanship of the SEECP.

The transition from the Stability Pact to the RCC will be gradual in order to ensure that the legacy of the Stability Pact is properly safeguarded and maintain a close relationship to the European integration process. The new set-up should be fully functional in 2008.

The meeting of the Regional Table was preceded by a day (29 May) of theme-focused Working Table meetings where issues of building and fostering human capital (Working Table I - Democracy), trade liberalisation and investment promotion (Working Table II - Economy) and the fight against organised crime and corruption as well as security cooperation (Working Table III - Security) were   debated.

• Information for the Media [Link]

• Overall RT Programme

• RT Speeches

Meeting of the Regional Table [30 May]

• Chairman's Conclusions
• Speech by Special Co-ordinator, Erhard Busek
• Draft Agenda
• Invitation Letter
• Useful Information

Key Documents

• Report of the Senior Reviev Group
• Non-paper on regional co-operation by the SP and the Commission
• Special Co-ordinator's Speech at the SEECP Prime Ministers Meeting

Meetings of the Working Tables [29 May]

Useful links about Belgrade:

• Official Web site of the City of Belgrade
• Tourist Organization of Belgrade
• Congress Center SAVA
• National Tourist Organization of Serbia
• Belgrade- Hotel and Travel

10th Meeting, Prague, 15-16 November 2005
The meetings will take place in     HOTEL DIPLOMAT

The Stability Pact's biannual Regional Table, its highest decision-making forum, will meet in the Czech capital Prague 15-16 November to discuss issues of regional ownership.

About 250 participants representing over 80 countries and organizations (including representatives of South Eastern European governments, EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the European Commission and the European Council, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, OSCE, Council of Europe, OECD, World Bank, IMF and EBRD) will debate opportunities and challenges for regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe. Recent progress in several SEE countries, in particular with a view to the their EU integration, has also increased the political momentum for a reassessment of the role of the Stability Pact and its fields of activity. The last Regional Table in Sofia was followed by an intense period assessing various activities of the Stability Pact and its initiatives, as well as in-depth discussions with SEE countries. This meeting of the Regional Table in Prague should thus be in a position to advance decision-making on the way ahead for the Stability Pact including an    assessment of the priorities for regional co-operation in the future and  an outline for the transition from a heavily donor driven framework to a more regionally owned co-operation scheme in collaboration with international partners.

The meeting of the Regional Table will be preceded by a day (15 November) of theme-focused Working Table meetings where issues of local democracy/cross border co-operation and parliamentary co-operation (Working Table I - Democracy), business climate (Working Table II - Economy) and fight against organised crime and corruption (Working Table III - Security) will be debated.

• Media Organisations can Consult the Media Advisory
•  Meeting of the Regional Table:
  [ Agenda] [ Letter of Invitation ] [ Technical Information ]
  • Special Co-ordinator's keynote speech
  • Chairman's Conclusions
  • SP Core Objectives 2006
  • Senior Review Group Report
• Working Table meetings in Prague, 15-16 November 2005

9th Meeting, Sofia, 17-19 May 2005

The Stability Pact's biannual Regional Table, its highest decision-making forum, will meet in     the Bulgarian capital Sofia 17-18 May to discuss issues of regional ownership.  

About 250 participants representing over 80 countries and organizations (including representatives of South Eastern European governments, EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland, the US, the European Commission and the European Council, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, OSCE, Council of Europe, OECD, World Bank, IMF and EBRD) will debate opportunities and challenges for the region to gradually take over ownership of various policy initiatives. As part of the region’s Euro-Atlantic integration prospects, the Stability Pact work focuses specifically on providing support to the countries of SEE in meeting membership criteria by fostering regional co-operation.

The meeting of the Regional Table will be preceded by a day (17 May) of theme-focused Working Table meetings where issues of regional ownership (Working Table I - Democracy), regional infrastructure and energy (Working Table II - Economy) and defence conversion (Working Table III – Security) will be debated. 

• NEWSLETTER NO. 22 – MAY 2005

• BULGARIA’s involvement in the Stability Pact :
  For more information on Bulgaria's involvement in the Stability Pact   click here

Venue: Hotel Kempinsky Zografski

• Meeting of the Regional Table: Draft Agenda
• Meetings of the three Working Tables and the Regional Table: Draft Programme
• Proposed themes for discussion:  Key Themes

8th Meeting, Skopje, 17-19 November 2004  

• General Information
• Agenda of the Regional Table
• Agenda of the Working Tables
• Topics for the Working Table Meetings in Skopje
• Detailed information page
• Chairman's Conclusions [Word Document]

7th Meeting, Portoroz, 7-8 June 2004  

• Chairman's Conclusions
• Opening Speech of SC Busek at the 7th Regional Table of the Stability Pact , Portoroz,
  8 June 2004
• Press Release: 5 Years of Stability Pact
• Invitation (Participation upon invitation only)
• Draft overall agenda
• Regional Table Draft agenda
• Working Table Themes
• Five years of Stability Pact

6th Meeting, Tirana, 4-5 December 2003

• Invitation to Media
• Annual Report
• Chairman's Conclusions
• Speech by Special Coordinator Erhard Busek
• More ... (agendas, media events, ...)

5th Meeting, Dubrovnik/Cavtat, 27 May 2003

• Press Release
• Agenda
• Getting to Work, by SC Busek
• Perspectives beyond Thessaloniki, by SC Busek
• Regional Table conclusions of the Chair

4th Meeting, Thessaloniki, 16 December 2002

• Chairman's Conclusion
• Press Release
• Agenda
• Annotated Agenda

Extraordinary Meeting, Bucharest, 5 June 2002

• Chairman's Conclusions of the Regional Table
• Stability Pact's Increased Regional Ownership
• Declaration on Cooperation in Disaster Preparedness and Prevention in South Eastern Europe
• Agenda
• Annotated Agenda

3rd Meeting, Brussels, 27-28 June 2001

• Press Background : The Scope of the Regional Conference, Bucharest 25-26 October
• Report on the Third Regional Table Meeting
• 3rd Regional Table Meeting Annotated Agenda
• Strategic Framework and Key Priorities
• Two Years Stability Pact: Major Achievements
• Regional Table Background Paper on Trade : Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalisation and Facilitation, including Statement of Intent by Moldova
• Agenda for Regional Action for Refugees and Displaced Persons
• Report on the Informal Southeastern Regional Meeting

2nd Meeting, Thessaloniki, 8 June 2000

• Agenda
• Agenda for Stability

Informal Meeting, Thessaloniki, 7 June 2000

• Summary of the Informal Regional Table Ministerial Meeting

1st Meeting, Brussels, 16 September 1999

• Regional Table Work Plan
• Regional Table Decision on Chairs and Venues
• Proposals to the Regional Table
• Record of the Regional Table Meeting