TRANSITION UPDATE N° 7
10th Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the SEECP, Zagreb 10 - 11 May 2007
TRANSITION UPDATE N° 6
South East Europe ready to assume full ownership of regional co-operation - 11 May 2007
Appointment Procedure Decision - 2 March 2007
TRANSITION UPDATE N° 3
Designation Procedure Decision - 2 March 2007
TRANSITION UPDATE N° 2
From a conflict prevention and confidence building initiative in South Eastern Europe
to a regionally-owned Regional Co-operation Council
Launched in 1999, the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe is the first comprehensive conflict-prevention strategy of the international community, aimed at strengthening the efforts of the countries of South East Europe in fostering peace, democracy, respect for human rights, economic prosperity and security. Over the years, the focus of the Stability Pact has shifted from confidence building among the countries torn by a decade of fighting as well as rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by the conflicts to a framework for regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe. Moreover, the Pact has taken on the role of supporting the integration of these countries into European and Euro-Atlantic structures by helping the countries of the region in meeting EU and NATO membership criteria.
Today, the Pact works on the issues of democratisation, economic reconstruction, co-operation and development as well as on security issues. With its Secretariat in Brussels, it provides an important link between the countries of South Eastern Europe and the EU and NATO institutions. Specifically, it is a proven framework that fosters one of the criteria for membership in the EU and NATO: regional co-operation and good-neighbourly relations.
Why is regional co-operation necessary?
Firstly, it is a necessity in South Eastern Europe in itself – quite a few issues, from fighting organised crime, to increasing trade and attracting investment, to strengthening disaster preparedness and prevention, can only be addressed on a regional basis. To give as an example – a foreign investor will not be interested in investing into a country with a market of only 2 million consumers but a market of 55 million consumers, which is currently being established with the amendment and enlargement of CEFTA, also makes investments in SEE much more attractive. And also many of Stability Pacts’ international partners, such as the International Financial Institutions, are taking a regional approach to their programming, in addition to their individual country programmes.
Secondly, regional co-operation is both a prerequisite and a tool for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of SEE. Namely, it is one of the criteria of EU and NATO membership, as the two organisations want to take in only those countries that show maturity in relations with their neighbours – regardless of how painful memories of recent events might be.
However, regional co-operation should not be mistaken for a substitute for EU and Euro-Atlantic integration. Since regional co-operation is the basis the EU itself is built upon, it is also a condition for the further integration of South Eastern Europe into the EU. Regional co-operation should thus be seen as important preparation for future EU and NATO membership.
What has the Stability Pact done so far?
Over the years, the Stability Pact has been responsible for several “success stories”. Companies are taking full advantage of regional free trade with the result of intra-regional trade doubling over the past few years. There is now a common approach to addressing difficult issues such as the fight against organised crime and corruption. Best practices in the area of migration are being exchanged. The Energy Treaty has created a regional electricity market consistent with EU standards. Four countries have formed the Sava River Commission to manage the economic and environmental issues of this important basin. Ever closer co-operation among the local authorities along the borders of SEE countries which are today being protected almost exclusively by police and not military any more.
These are examples of some of the positive developments that have taken place in SEE over the past 7 years. There is no doubt that the region is much more mature today. Therefore, it can – and must – take greater ownership of its own affairs.
Bearing this in mind, a transformation and streamlining process was launched in 2005 with the final aim of having the new framework for regional co-operation in South Eastern Europe in place by 2008.
In order to have an impartial assessment of the contributions of the Stability Pact so far and to receive various proposals on how the future regional co-operation framework should look, a Senior Review Group (SRG) was established in close co-ordination with Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and comprised of Alpo Rusi of Finland as the Chairman (former Deputy Special Co-ordinator in 1999-2000), Goran Svilanovic (former Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro), Vladimir Drobnjak (Chief EU negotiator for Croatia) and Franz-Lothar Altmann (German Institute for International and Security Affairs). The SRG had a mandate to make recommendations on the future of the Stability Pact and its priorities and ways to enhance regional ownership of the processes initiated by the Stability Pact.
The final report of the SRG outlined certain preconditions for a sustainable regional co-operation framework in SEE which have to be kept in mind: a strong involvement of both the South East European countries and the EU; full political commitment by the countries of the region; and involvement of the non-EU donor community during the transition process towards regional ownership.
Following a wide consultation process with countries of South Eastern Europe in 2005 and 2006, the Stability Pact’s highest decision-making body – the Regional Table in Belgrade in May 2006 – took far reaching decisions on the transformation of the Stability Pact into a more regionally-owned, streamlined and effective regional co-operation framework in South Eastern Europe. The main task of such a framework is to be a facilitator of regional co-operation and support the European and Euro-Atlantic integration, while ensuring continued involvement of the donor community, thus preserving the legacy of the Pact.
It was agreed that the streamlined Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) and its Secretariat should focus its activities on six areas which the countries of the region have already identified as those where regional co-operation will be beneficial to all: Economic and social development; Infrastructure; Justice and Home Affairs; Security Co-operation and Building Human Capital with Parliamentary Co-operation being an overarching theme that is linked with each of the other areas.
The political work of the RCC in these six core areas will be supported on a technical and expert level by a network of Stability Pact's initiatives and task forces. A detailed assessment of regional ownership of each of the current 25 initiatives and task forces and their future relation with the RCC has been examined by the Stability Pact Secretariat and the Special Co-ordinator has presented its report with recommendations for individual transition strategies, timelines and required resources.
The RCC should be chaired by a Secretary General from the region to be nominated by the South Eastern Europe Co-operation Process (SEECP) in Spring 2007 and endorsed by the Regional Table and subsequently by the RCC once established. The Secretary General would head the Secretariat of the RCC and also provide support to the SEECP Chairmanship. Considering the importance of close relations with EU institutions, the countries agreed that a Brussels-based representation or liaison office would be important.
Parallel discussions on several levels took place following the Belgrade meeting of the Regional Table in order to progress towards the agreement reached that the new Regional Co-operation Council would be fully operational by early 2008.
Most importantly, the representatives of the region (who met under the framework of the Financial Working Group) met under the leadership of the Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office of the South Eastern European Co-operation Process (SEECP) and the Stability Pact reached consensus on a refined cost-sharing proposal to cover €1 million, the agreed annual contribution by the region to the RCC Secretariat. The financial commitments made for the initial period of three years is based on dividing the countries in four sub-groups according to their economic size, and assigning different shares to each sub-group. This progress was an important sign of the political commitment of the SEE countries to the process.
What steps need to be taken in 2007?
In order to make the transition real and feasible, a number of decisions still need to be taken leading up to the next meeting of the Regional Table on 11 May 2007:
Firstly, the SEECP needs to define its relationship with the RCC. The Regional Table in Belgrade has taken decisions on the future of the Pact and has suggested that the newly established Regional Co-operation Council should have a close relationship with the SEECP.
Secondly, the financing scheme of the new RCC and its Secretariat needs to be determined. After the regional governments having agreed on their financial contribution to the future RCC Secretariat, the European Commission and bilateral donors have now started to work together on their contribution and have agreed to establish a Donors Working Group to this effect. The Group will work towards defining the size of contribution by individual donors (bringing the total needed for the daily operation of the Regional Co-operation Council Secretariat to €2.5 – 3 million) and at developing a mechanism that will allow donors to pool their funds in support of the Regional Co-operation Council.
Thirdly, the question of where to locate the Secretariat of the RCC and the person of the Secretary General will require a decision by the countries of the region. While the international community remains at the disposal of the SEE countries, the main responsibility for defining the nominations procedure lies with them and the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office.
Fourthly, a detailed mandate and legal basis for the RCC needs to be defined. This is of particular importance to establish the RCC on firm legal grounds and to allow financial means to be made available. To this end, the representatives of donors and the European Commission have recently stressed the need to define institutional arrangements for the Regional Co-operation Council and expressed their readiness to join the SEECP and the Stability Pact Secretariat in their efforts on this issue. In this endeavour an Institutional Working Group (IWG) has been established to discuss both the legal status of the Regional Co-operation Council and its Secretariat, as well as RCC's formal links to the SEECP.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it needs to be underlined that this phased evolution of the Stability Pact into a regionally owned framework should not be interpreted as the international community withdrawing its support or leaving the region on its own. On the contrary, many of Stability Pact’s international partners have assured us that they will stay engaged, but want to see the countries of the region gradually taking more ownership of the process – politically, financially and also personnel-wise.
It is in all parties’ interest to ensure the sustainability of the co-operation processes initiated within the Pact and thus safeguard its legacy for South East Europe. There are two pre-conditions for this to be successful: enhanced regional ownership and continued international support in the transition phase. To put it differently, the Regional Co-operation Council is required, in order to allow continued international involvement and support while enhancing regional ownership. Therefore, the South Eastern European countries, the SEECP (as the only regionally-owned organisation so far) and the international community – must take the necessary decisions to make this a reality in a transparent fashion.
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