The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) was officially launched on 27 February 2008, as the successor of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.As a regionally owned organization the RCC represents the region, supports and initiates regional cooperation.
Through a regionally owned and led framework, the RCC focuses on promotion and enhancement of regional cooperation in South East Europe (SEE) and supports European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the aspiring countries.
The RCC key role is to generate and coordinate developmental projects of a wider, regional character, to the benefit of each individual participant, and create an appropriate political climate susceptible to their implementation.
The RCC operates under the political umbrella of the South East Europe Cooperation Process (Snk: EECP). Its objectives, working methods and priority areas for action are defined by the Statute and other documents adopted at Annual Meetings and endorsed by SEECP Summits.
As a regionally owned organization the RCC represents the region, supports and initiates regional cooperation.
The organization develops and maintains close working relationships with all relevant actors and stakeholders in these areas, such as governments, international organizations, international financial institutions, regional organizations, civil society and the private sector.
The RCC also develops close relationships with and receives substantive input from relevant regional task forces and initiatives active in specific thematic areas of regional cooperation.
There are 4 main areas of cooperation in the framework of the RCC:
- Justice and home affairs;
- Security cooperation;
- Mobility and development of human capital;
- Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship development.
- Declaration of RCC establishment, its membership and Statute;
- Agreement on headquarter between member states of SEECP and the hosting country (Bosnia and Herzegovina);
- Agreement on headquarter for the contact point in Brussels .
RCC operates under the tripartite partnership:
- Members from the South East Europe* (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey),
- Donors countries: (Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,United Kingdom, United States, Hungary)
- European Commission represented by the Troika (European Commission, EU Presidency, Council Secretariat).
*Kosovo was accepted to RCC as a participant (at the RCC Board Meeting from 28 February 2013), according to the Resolution 1244 of the US Security Council.
The RCC meeting format consists of the Annual Meeting and meetings of the RCC Board, held three times a year. The Annual Meeting of the RCC is held back to back with the SEECP Summit. It is co-chaired by the Secretary General and the Foreign Minister of the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO).
The Annual Meeting of the RCC meets at a high political level. It ensures strategic coordination and development of regional cooperation processes, reviews and endorses the Secretary General’s Annual Report on regional cooperation in SEE as well as the organization’s Strategy and Work Programme. The RCC Annual Meeting is open to other countries, international organizations and partners as guests upon request to and/or the initiative of the Secretary General following the consent of the participants in the RCC Board.
The RCC Board meets three times a year and is chaired by the Secretary General. RCC Board meetings are convened and prepared by the Secretary General in coordination with the SEECP CiO.
The RCC Board meets at the level of RCC National Coordinators, which are senior civil officials in each RCC participant responsible for coordination of RCC relevant issues within their respective national administration.
Decisions of the RCC are taken by consensus. The working language of RCC meetings as well as of the Secretariat is English.
The RCC is supported by the Secretary General, a Secretariat based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe was launched in 1999, in Köln, as a political initiative, with the mission to stabilize the political cooperation and economic recovery after the wars in the South East-Europe, in the former Yugoslavia. In 2005 was started the process of reviewing the activities of the Stability Pact, as a response to the integration processes to EU and NATO of the states from the region
In April 2006, European Commission, together with SPSEE Secretariat presented a Non-paper which introduced the RCC for continuing the SPSEE activities.
Parallel discussions on several levels took place following the Belgrade (May 30, 2006), at the meeting of the Regional Table states have decided to redefine the Stability Pact, through its transformation in RCC. The agreement reached that the new Regional Co-operation Council would be fully operational by early 2008.
The Regional Table in Zagreb on 10 May 2007 took the process further. It endorsed the nominations of the RCC’s first Secretary General and the seat of the RCC Secretariat, and adopted the RCC Statute.
The Host Country Agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina, SEECP countries and UNMIK/Kosovo was signed in Plovdiv on 14 September 2007.
The final meeting of the three Working Tables of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe – Democracy, Economy and Security - took place on 3-4 December 2007 in Tirana. Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact Erhard Busek as well as incoming Secretary General of the RCC Hido Biscevic presented the next steps on "The Road Ahead -Reinforcing the Regional Co-operation Agenda".
The final meeting of the Stability Pact Regional Table took place in Sofia on 27 February 2008. This meeting marked the final step in the transformation of the Stability Pact into the new regionally owned cooperation framework, the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC), the first meeting of which will took place on the same occasion. The Joint Declaration on the Establishment of the RCC was adopted as part of the meeting, which marked the formal handover from the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe to the Regional Co-operation Council.
The Secretariat
RCC is the Focal Point for regional cooperation in SEE. Powered by SG Secretariat based in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Liaison Office in Brussels, RCC provides the operational capability for SEECP and acts as a forum for the continued involvement of those members of the international donor community involved in the region.
The Secretary General
First RCC SG was Mr. Hido Bišćević (term of 3 years and extended for a another 2 years until 31 December 2012).
RCC Secretary General - Mr. Goran Svilanovic (January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2018).
From 1 January 2019, the mandate will be taken over by Ms. Majlinda Bregu (Albania)