Government of Republic of Moldova

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova

South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP)

Procesul de Cooperare din Europa de Sud-Est (SEECP) este o structură de cooperare regională neinstituţionalizată, concepută de statele regiunii, ca expresie a solidarităţii dintre acestea. Elementul definitoriu este reprezentat de faptul că SEECP este singurul forum din Sud-estul Europei format şi gestionat de statele din regiune.

General Information

The Republic of Moldova joined the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) on May 4th 2006, within the High Level SEECP Summit from Thessaloniki (Greece). On October 10 2006, the Republic of Moldova has signed the Charter on Good Neighborly relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South Eastern Europe, becoming de jure full-fledged member to the SEECP. The accession to the SEECP consolidated from the political point of view the belonging of the Republic of Moldova to the South Eastern Europe, thus creating additional prerequisite for its advancement on the path of European Integration.

The Stability Pact in South Eastern Europe was reorganized with the establishment in February 2008 of the Regional Cooperation Council that will consolidate operationally the processes and initiatives from South Eastern Europe, SEECP being the supreme political forum.

Main objectives
  • Strengthening the stability, security and good-neighborly relations;
  • Intensifying multilateral economic and trade cooperation in the region, focusing on cross-border cooperation, infrastructure development, communications and energetic sector, trade and economic development;
  • Promoting cooperation in humanitarian, social and cultural fields;
  • Cooperation in the field of justice, fighting the organized crime, illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons, and terrorism.
Main Bodies

The SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office (C-i-O) assumes responsibility for the coordination and planning of activities within the Organization. Chairmanship (PiE) is held by participating States for one year according to the rotation principle. Also, at least two Foreign Ministers' meetings are held during the Chairmanship mandate: (formal and informal). At the same time, there are regular meetings of the political directors at the level of national coordinators.

The process of interparliamentary cooperation takes place through meetings of the Presidents of the Parliaments of the SEECP Member States. High-level meetings are finalized by the adoption of joint statements and are usually preceded by meetings at the level of political directors. In order to ensure the continuity of the Chairmanship, is used the Troika mechanism, which is formed from the previous, current and future Chairmanships of the Organization. SEECP decision-making process takes place through consensus.

Accession to the SEECP

SEECP is an open initiative for the accession of a participating state or observer state, the basic criteria being the geographical belonging to the region and the respect of the principles of the Charter. The decision on accession is taken on a high level meetings by consensus.

The parliamentary dimension

At the first Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of South East Europe (Athens, 1997) was made a proposal to initiate the permanent parliamentary dialogue by organizing, on the principle of rotation, the Conference of Presidents of Southeast European Parliaments.

Intensification of cooperation on the parliamentary dimension among SEECP countries was also included in the Charter of Good-Neighborly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in Southeastern Europe, signed in Bucharest on 12 February 2000 and in the 2001 Skopje Declaration.

In the margins of the meeting of the Presidents of the Parliaments of the SEECP Member States (Athens, March 2006), a Joint Declaration was signed whereby each CiO assumes the responsibility to organize the parliamentary conference as well as to achieve the established objectives regarding the institutionalization of the cooperation between the Parliaments of the states in the region.

At the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of the SEECP Member States (Ohrid, 26-28 May 2013) was approved the convening of the inaugural session of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest.

SEECP Member States

Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001), Croatia (2004), Moldova (2006), Montenegro Slovenia (2010).