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Zagreb, 2 March 2007 — Countries of South Eastern Europe have today (2 March) successfully taken another step towards the creation of a new framework for regional co-operation in the region.

By adopting the appointment procedure and the mandate of the new Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) Secretary General and the designation procedure for the seat of the RCC Secretariat, a new milestone has been set in the transformation of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe into a regionally-owned RCC.

Meeting in Zagreb, the Foreign Ministers of the South East European Co-operation Process (SEECP), a framework of political consultations in which Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Moldova, Montenegro [1], Romania, Serbia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey participate, reiterated their commitment to “strengthening the leadership role of the SEECP in the future Regional Co-operation Council” which will serve as framework of strong and effective co-ordination of regional co-operation through the common efforts of the SEECP, UNMIK/Kosovo, the European Commission and the international community.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Michael Mozur challenged the SEECP countries by asking them “…how much ambition do you have and are willing to put into this new Regional Cooperation Council? Your decisions in this context will determine how much the RCC will be able to achieve for all of you, within your region and in its relations to the outside, first and foremost to the European Union.”

Final decisions on the appointment of the first RCC Secretary General and the designation of the Seat of the RCC Secretariat will be taken at the next meeting of the SEECP Foreign Ministers on 10 May following the endorsement by the Stability Pact’s highest decision-making body, the Regional Table. These decisions would then be approved also by the SEECP Heads of State and Government on 11 May in Zagreb, paving the way for the planned creation of the RCC and the opening of the RCC Secretariat by February 2008.

ECIKS / Stability Pact for SEE