Bregu: Can you put a price tag on people leaving the region? In a way, yes, you can.
24 Nov 2023

Western Balkans is ranked among some of the economies most affected by brain drain, with expectations to lose around one million young people in the coming decade. People leaving the region does not only pose a risk to workforce availability but also threatens additional pressure to health ...

RCC Secretary General promotes regional cooperation at the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid
23 Nov 2023

Madrid – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, took part at the event dedicated to the discussion on the Western Balkans accession to the European Union and the role of regional cooperation and RCC, organised within the Spanish Presidency of ...

RCC Secretary General meets Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister in Chisinau
21 Nov 2023

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretary General Majlinda Bregu was in a visit to Moldova today where she met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Nicu Popescu, to discuss the EU integration of the region and Moldova’s role in ...

Bregu: Brain Drain is Becoming not just Human Capital but Security Issue Too
14 Nov 2023

Rome - "Migration is becoming one of the biggest problems of today, because countries are emptying. Not just those that result in the inflow of migrants to our region, but also because of the emigration from our region further to the west. Hence, the term of security challenges is dramatically ...

RCC Board praises the work of the organisation and its Secretary General
08 Nov 2023

Sarajevo – Opening the 50th meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board in Sarajevo today, the RCC Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu, shared positive outcomes and feedback to the start of implementation of EU-WB Roaming Reductions and the results of continuing regional cooperation ...

RCC ESAP 2: Western Balkan Enforcement Authorities Explore Cyprus' Approach to Undeclared and Discuss Platform Work
27 Oct 2023

RCC ESAP 2 Organised a Two-day Thematic Study Visit to Cyprus Labour Inspectorate, Focused on Tackling Undeclared Work in the Western Balkans within Its Mutual Assistance Projectshttp://esap.online

Bregu: It is precisely in our diversity that the true potential for cooperation lies
23 Oct 2023

Bruges - “The Western Balkans is like a canvas, painted with all hues of history and diversity, a tapestry of languages, cultures, and painful conflict. Yet it is precisely in this diversity that the true potential for cooperation lies. But, Western Balkans is Europe. Since the EU enlargement ...

Imagine. Innovate. Create: RCC opens applications for Butterfly Innovation Award 2023
19 Oct 2023

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is inviting creative minds to apply for the 2nd round of Regional Butterfly Innovation Award for innovative, scalable, and market-based solutions from the Western Balkans. The Butterfly Innovation Award fund is set at 30,000 EUR, where ...

Bregu: Another agreement prepared by the RCC signed today in Tirana
16 Oct 2023

Tirana – The Heads of Governments of the Western Balkans Six signed one more agreement under the Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan’s mobility agenda, a process facilitated by the RCC - on the recognition of professional qualifications of nurses, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists, ...

Bregu: Role of Parliaments in the Berlin Process is to transform the pledges to reality
13 Oct 2023

Tirana - "The ultimate legal responsibility in the ratification process of most of regional agreements and commitments lies with the parliaments. This once again makes evident the need for stronger engagement of Parliaments in this process, not only to formally add to its democratic legitimacy ...

Bregu: Supporting cities in accelerating their transition to environmentally-friendly & digitally advanced urban environments is imperative
12 Oct 2023

Tirana – The first Local Self-Governments Forum, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) together with the Municipality of Tirana and the Network of Association of Local Authorities of South East Europe (NALAS), opened in Tirana today. 

Tirana: RCC to host the first regional Local Self-Governments Forum
11 Oct 2023

Tirana - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is inviting you to the first Local Self-Governments Forum on 12 October in the Pyramid of Tirana. The Forum: Unlocking the Future: Innovate, Eco-vate, Elevate - Western Balkans Unite for Smart Cities, is being organised by the RCC, together with ...

Bregu: Making the enlargement credible both for the region and the EU lies ahead of us, with keys in our hands
06 Oct 2023

Tirana – “A success story of EU-rules based regional cooperation and a symbolic entry ticket to EU single market saw the light of the day on 1 October – when the EU-Western Balkans roaming reductions came into effect. A demonstration of commitments made and pledges upkept. ...

RCC ESAP 2: Strengthening Capacities of Western Balkans’ Public Employment Services for Alignment of the Labour Market Policies Databases with the EU Requirements
05 Oct 2023

ESAP 2 organised regional workshop for Western Balkans’ Public Employment Services on classification and recording of Labour Market Policies and roadmaps for their alignment with the EU practices

Bregu: By working on digital transformation we are working on Europeanisation of our region
04 Oct 2023

Sarajevo – The sixth Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS), hosted by Bosnia and Herzegovina and supported by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), opened this morning in Sarajevo. 

Bregu: Balkathon is a platform for development of young people's entrepreneurial skills and creating new jobs
03 Oct 2023

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presents winners of the fourth Western Balkans online competition for the best digital solutions, BALKATHON 4.0:

Who will win 2023 Balkathon? Follow us live tomorrow and find out
02 Oct 2023

Sarajevo – The grand finale of the fourth Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s online competition for the best digital solutions in the Western Balkans, BALKATHON 4.0 is to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, 3 October 2023 starting at 10.00 hrs in Sarajevo. The event will be livestreamed ...

Bregu: EU-Western Balkans roaming reductions in force as of today
02 Oct 2023

TIRANA, October 2, 2023 — In a significant stride towards regional cooperation and affordable mobile communication, the EU-Western Balkans Roaming Declaration, signed at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tirana on December 6, 2022, has officially taken effect, marking 1 October 2023, as ...

RCC ESAP 2: Western Balkan Enforcement Authorities Address Challenges of Under-declared Work
29 Sep 2023

Tirana – Under-declared work/envelope wages was a topic for discussion of the enforcement authorities from the Western Balkans at the one-day regional Workshop organised by the Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform project (ESAP2) in Tirana, Albania ...

Bregu: A human-centric Europe, with Western Balkans firmly in its fold, is the best investment in peace and security for the entire continent
26 Sep 2023

Tirana – “A human-centric Europe, that is adapted, reformed, rebooted and more - with Western Balkans firmly in its fold - is the best investment in peace and security for the entire continent! The Western Balkans has made significant progress in the last two decades, but we are ...

Bregu: When global institutions and frameworks are stretched thin, regional bodies can step in to provide stability, continuity, and direction
21 Sep 2023

New York - "The Western Balkans has made significant progress in the last two decades, but the Western Balkans is not where its inhabitants or outside peacemakers hoped we would be twenty-plus years after the guns went largely quiet. Unfortunately, friction amongst economies persists, ...

Bregu: Western Balkans faces security challenges daily
15 Sep 2023

Tirana – “As a region where geopolitical and strategic interests compete, Western Balkans faces security challenges daily, and the aggression against Ukraine didn’t make it any easier on us. According to Western Balkan citizens, their perception of security has been strongly ...

Anna Gyimesi gets Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film
19 Aug 2023

Sarajevo - Anna Gyimesi from Hungary won Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film with a movie Falling, at the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival. This award, patroned by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), was presented at the SFF closing ceremony last night in Sarajevo. Brava Anna for ...

Support for regional cooperation among Western Balkan business people has risen from 69% last year, to 74%
25 Jul 2023

Sarajevo – Last week, the Regional Cooperation Council published the results of the annual Balkan Barometer 2023 Public Opinion Survey. To complete the picture of our region’s opinions about regional cooperation, EU integration, trust in the public institutions and media, their ...

69% of Western Balkan citizens agree that what brings them together is more important than what separates them
18 Jul 2023

Sarajevo - For the 9th time in a row, the Regional Cooperation Council is publishing the results of Balkan Barometer - the annual survey among six thousand people from the entire Western Balkans, giving an overview of their opinions on regional cooperation, EU integration, trust in the public ...

RCC’s trademark digital competition - Balkathon 4.0 - is on! Apply Now!
13 Jul 2023

Sarajevo – For the fourth year in a row, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is launching region’s trademark online competition for the best digital ideas and solutions from the Western Balkans - Balkathon 4.0. Applications are open until 13 September. 

RCC, EESC set to deepen civil society and youth engagement in region’s reform processes
12 Jul 2023

Brussels – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, and the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Röpke, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the two organisations, in Brussels today. The ...

Bregu: European leadership, power, and unity have never been more needed in the Western Balkans
08 Jul 2023

"The language of power is the language of leadership. By necessity, and maybe not by choice, the EU is learning every day that speaking the language of power is power itself. European leadership, power, and unity have never been more important, more needed, and more obviously in the interests ...

Bregu: 49% of Western Balkan citizens are concerned the climate change is affecting their health
05 Jul 2023

Budapest - "According to our recent Balkan Barometer, 49% of the citizens of the WB are concerned that climate change is affecting their health. Moreover, Pollution of Air (57%), Water (44%), and Soil (39%) are listed as the greatest environmental concerns in communities. All Western Balkan ...

Bregu: Crucial step to reinforcing critical digital capacities in our region is phasing in EU policies and programmes
30 Jun 2023

Brussels – “Today’s accession to the Digital Europe Programme for four economies from our region is a major development and crucial step to reinforce critical digital capacities in EU and WB. What once seemed almost utopic is now a reality since 2021 - with the regional roaming fees ...

Bregu: Regional approach to cybersecurity, in line with EU standards, is a must
29 Jun 2023

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in cooperation with DG NEAR, organised a two-day high-level conference on cybersecurity in the Western Balkans, on 28-29 June 2023 in Brussels. 

Bregu: More cooperation crucial in addressing regional tensions
27 Jun 2023

Podgorica – Heads of State and Government of South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) commended the work of Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and recognised its unique role and accomplishments in promoting cooperation, overall development of the region and advancing towards a ...

Kapetanovic: With already 334 victims of firearms in 2023 in our region, it is high time to reduce its supply, demand and misuse
23 Jun 2023

Tirana – “The widespread proliferation and misuse of firearms poses a great threat to our societies. Only in the first quarter of 2023, 821 firearm incidents were reported in South East Europe, resulting in 334 victims. Our 2022 SecuriMeter survey indicates that 12% of Western Balkans ...

Young People from the Region Present Their Own Visions and Plans on How to Improve Youth Mental Health
21 Jun 2023

Belgrade – Thirty young people and policy makers from the entire Western Balkans presented the outcomes and recommendations that have emerged from their diligent efforts to address youth mental health in their economies at the Final Conference on Youth Mental Health, organised by the ...

RCC wins annual Prespa Forum Dialogue 2023 award
16 Jun 2023

Struga – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, took part at the annual Prespa Forum Dialogue (PFD) 2023, taking place 15-16 June 2023 in Struga, North Macedonia, where she received the PFD Award on behalf of RCC, spoke at the panel on regional ...

Bregu: Region’s special potential lies in the diversity of possible entrepreneurial engagement that has not been fully utilized just yet
12 Jun 2023

Frankfurt – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretary General Majlinda Bregu was in Frankfurt, Germany, today, taking part at the Digisustain Conference at a panel dedicated to regional competencies and green investment opportunities in the Western Balkans. Digisustain gathers ...

No Borders Orchestra is the Champion of Regional Cooperation for 2022
06 Jun 2023

Sarajevo/Vienna – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria (BMEIA) have the pleasure to announce that the winner of the Champion of Regional Cooperation Dr Erhard Busek Award for 2022 is No Borders Orchestra ...

Bregu: Our region deserves a re-energised enlargement process and membership advantages in advance of full accession
05 Jun 2023

Budva – Ministers of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) commended the efforts of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in fostering regional cooperation and integration of the Western Balkan economies into the European Union (EU), focusing on ...

Bregu: This year marks one of the most impactful ones for the Western Balkans when it comes to regional cooperation
04 Jun 2023

Budva - "This year marks one of the most impactful ones for the Western Balkans, marking the long-awaited turning point towards commitments taken by the economies of the region, through the Common Regional Market (CRM). With integrity, collegiality and competence - three words of tradition ...

Bregu: Half of all mental disorders begin before the age of 14. What is ‘an ounce of prevention’ when it comes to mental health, and do we take enough care of that?
29 May 2023

Our region was recently shocked with an event that happened in Serbia when a young teenage boy killed ten people at school, including nine classmates. A horrible tragedy that rendered all of us silenced for days. In a matter of 24 hours after the school tragedy, another mass murdered happened ...

RCC Board approves organisation’s Annual Report 2022/23, and adopts Financial Report 2022
25 May 2023

Sarajevo – The participants of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board approved the organisation’s Annual Report 2022/23 and adopted the Financial Report 2022 at their 49th meeting held in Sarajevo today. The Annual Report 2022/23 is expected to be endorsed at the RCC Annual ...

Moderate progress of the Western Balkan economies regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights
04 May 2023

(Sarajevo/Skopje) - The Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presented the 2022 edition of individual economy and regional overview reports on performance of the Western Balkan (WB) economies regarding the European Pillar of Social ...

European Union launches the third phase of its Roma Integration programme in partnership with the Council of Europe
04 May 2023

The European Union is launching the third phase of the Roma Integration programme in partnership with the Council of Europe. It will contribute to the socio-economic integration of the Roma population in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. The programme will work with the governments in the ...

BREGU: There is a price to pay for speaking the truth - how much are we willing to spend in “killing the fake news”?
29 Apr 2023

Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread, such as through the planting of rumors, in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. Fake news spreads six times faster than true news. 

WBYL supported dialogue between Members of Parliament and civil society from Western Balkans in Brussels
28 Apr 2023

From 25 to 27 April 2023, the Bridging the Gap initiative promoted dialogue between civil society and elected representatives from the region and from the European Union. The event was co-organized by the European Parliament's Mediation and Dialogue Support Unit and the European Commission's ...

RCC gathers key Western Balkan stakeholders for a workshop on media literacy and countering hybrid threats and disinformation
20 Apr 2023

Helsinki - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in partnership with the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid CoE) and with support from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, gathered 20 key Western Balkan stakeholders  - ...

Who is, in your opinion, Champion of Regional Cooperation in South East Europe? Nominate one by 17 May 2023!
18 Apr 2023

Sarajevo/Vienna – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of the Republic of Austria (BMEIA) have the pleasure to invite you to nominate your favourite for the Champion of Regional Cooperation Dr Erhard Busek Award.

Bregu: Economic importance of tourism can make or break any region
04 Apr 2023

Tirana – “Western Balkans pre-pandemic tourism showed positive trends. More than 12 million people visited the region, which brought a profit of 7.2 billion EUR. Tourism made 10.2% of the region’s GDP and accounted for more than 25% of exports. While one can go figure digging ...

Bregu: CRM will bring the Western Balkans closer to EU Single Market
03 Apr 2023

RCC Secretary General spoke before Albanian Parliament of the RCC’s co-oganisation of the upcoming Berlin Process Summit in Tirana this fall    Tirana – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Majlinda Bregu spoke before the Albanian Parliament’s ...

Bregu: Region should remain steadfast on sustainable, green transition and decarbonisation path
30 Mar 2023

“The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans is a dynamic and evolving initiative that, like a living organism, requires collective efforts of both the governmental and non-governmental sectors to nurture, grow and shape towards a sustainable plan for the future. In a developing region, ...

Bregu: Digitalisation momentum in Western Balkans calls for improvement e-service accessibility improvement and reduction of digital divide
28 Mar 2023

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB) gathered region’s ministers and other high ranking government officials, local and international experts in digital projects, key donors and ...

RCC, EBRD, EIB organising Investing in Digitalisation in the Western Balkans Conference tomorrow in Sarajevo
27 Mar 2023

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Global are organising Investing in Digitalisation in the Western Balkans Conference, that is to take place on Tuesday, on 28 March 2023 in ...

Bregu: Continued all-inclusive regional cooperation remains key in strengthening economic resilience of Western Balkans
15 Mar 2023

Sarajevo – “External risks arising from the current geopolitical crisis and the rise in commodity prices reinforce the purpose of the Common Regional Market agenda. Continued all-inclusive regional cooperation remains the key towards strengthening economic resilience of the Western ...

UN Women and RCC join forces to advance women’s empowerment in the Western Balkans
10 Mar 2023

UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will join forces to advance the digital transformation in the Western Balkans to promote cooperation in the region, as well as advance women’s economic empowerment, and the green agenda.

RCC presents Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of 2022
09 Mar 2023

Tirana - Dhurata Thanasi Daneri, Snjezana Köpruner, Elki Shehu, Mirjana Babic, Zagorka Blazevska, Marijana Gligoric are Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022, as presented at a ceremony organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in Tirana today. 

RCC to present Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022
08 Mar 2023

Sarajevo/Tirana – On the International Women’s Day, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022, at a ceremony to be held on 9 March in Tirana. 

Bregu: Wellbeing, health and thriving population should be foundation of every growth policy
02 Mar 2023

Copenhagen – “Economic growth cannot be the only and ultimate policy objective. Collective wellbeing, healthy and thriving population where no one is left behind should be the foundation of every growth policy. The ambitious post-pandemic recovery aspirations are crushed against ...

Bregu: Western Balkans is an important piece of the European security and stability puzzle
17 Feb 2023

The annual 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC) started in Munich today gathering world leaders to discuss topics of global security, defence, technology, and sustainability while keeping the focus on the still ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Alongside many world and European leaders, ...

United Group Joins the EU-WB Roaming Declaration
07 Feb 2023

Brussels/Sarajevo - United Group, one of the largest telecommunications and media operators in the South East Europe including Nova, Total TV, Telemach, SBB and more regional telecommunication platforms, signed the European Union (EU)-Western Balkans (WB) Roaming Declaration at a meeting of ...

RCC: Nominations for Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022 open
03 Feb 2023

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is happy to announce that the nomination process for the Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2022 has begun! The RCC launched this initiative last year in the framework of the Common Regional Market Action Plan 2021-2024 and ...

Bregu: Hundreds of stories of citizens being unable to meet relatives due to visas are soon to be in the past
23 Jan 2023

Sarajevo – The long, cumbersome procedures and high visa refusal rate have significantly declined the number of Kosovan and Bosnian and Herzegovinian citizens visiting each other over the course of the last few years. 

Bregu: To have wider choices, earn more, and live better - Choose STEM Future
18 Jan 2023

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is launching a campaign dubbed “Choose STEM future” to encourage young women and girls to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) by bringing forth inspiring role models of successful women in STEM ...

RCC hosts the Second Butterfly Innovation & Business Forum in Sarajevo
08 Dec 2022

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), in partnership with the EU4DigitalSME - Innovation and Digitalisation in SMEs in BiH project implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), hosted the Second ...

Reduction of data roaming prices between WB and EU to start as of 1 October 2023
06 Dec 2022

At the EU-Western Balkans Summit held in Tirana today, the telecommunications operators from the European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans signed a Roaming Declaration enabling the reduction of the roaming charges between the EU and the Western Balkans as of 1 October 2023. 

Looking at Social Ability to Provide Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
24 Nov 2022

Sarajevo – In the Western Balkans economies “most of the progress was registered in the areas of inclusion of children with disabilities, especially in the process of deinstitutionalisation of children with disability, inclusive education and support services offered at the community ...

RCC, WB6CIF gather European investors, present opportunities and advantages of doing business in the Western Balkans
22 Nov 2022

Ljubljana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum (WBCIF) gathered European investors from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, WB investment promotion agencies, ministries responsible for investment policy and promotion, regional organisations ...

Bregu: 82.9% of Western Balkan citizens agree that regional cooperation can help in improving economic resilience
18 Nov 2022

Rome/Sarajevo – “The EU and the Western Balkans share many evolving, borderless security threats, from radicalisation, violent extremism, and return of Foreign Terrorist Fighters to irregular migration, organised crime, corruption, disinformation and cyber-attacks. Such joint priorities ...

WB Youth Lab: Youth working on mental health policies to build the region as an environment of care
15 Nov 2022

Pristina – “Deteriorating mental health among youth during pandemic led to multiplied negative effects in the long run, which was an alarm to act. We have made first steps towards bridging the gap between the mental health needs and the policy solutions. Cooperation, innovative ...

RCC Board participants praise the organisation, congratulate its Secretary General on the excellent, for our region extremely important job done
09 Nov 2022

Sarajevo – Opening the 47th meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board in Sarajevo today, the RCC Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu, shared very positive outcomes of regional cooperation presented in the last couple of weeks during the Berlin Process Summit and related meetings. 

Bregu: It’s done - the three RCC-coordinated centrepiece mobility agreements finally see the light of day
03 Nov 2022

Berlin – The Heads of Governments of the Western Balkans Six signed the three mobility agreements under the Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan’s mobility agendas - on Freedom of Movement with Identity Cards, on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, and on Recognition ...

Bregu: Keeping the Green Agenda implementation torch lit is difficult, but there are no U-turns in a climate change-vulnerable region like ours
24 Oct 2022

Berlin/Sarajevo – “Keeping the torch lit on the implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans that was developed in times of stability was a hellishly difficult task in these times of adversity. It is clearly overshadowed by the impact of the war and the pan-European ...

All-inclusive regional cooperation and Common Regional Market deliver results
21 Oct 2022

Berlin/Sarajevo – The Western Balkans (WB) Foreign Ministers approved three regional agreements - on Freedom of Movement with Identity Cards, on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, and on Recognition of Professional Qualifications for Doctors of Medicine, Dentists and Architects ...

RCC to ascertain the rationale behind defamation and insinuations against the organisation and its Secretary General
21 Oct 2022

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is well known for being a serious and responsible organisation therefore does not comment on either hearsay speculations or fabrications.

European Union and Western Balkans mobile operators to work together on steps, ought to start EU-WB roaming charges reduction soon
19 Oct 2022

Sarajevo/Brussels – The European Union (EU) and the Western Balkans (WB) mobile operators met today to discuss the Roadmap on lowering the roaming charges between the EU and our region, at the meeting organised by the European Commission. Olivér Várhelyi, EU Neighborhood ...

RCC co-organises SEECP foreign ministers' meeting in New York
24 Sep 2022

New York – "Entire South East Europe finds itself facing similar challenges and similar opportunities, from energy security to food crisis, and regional cooperation is the key for them in the period to follow," said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation ...

Bregu: Digitalisation necessitates an intergenerational approach
21 Sep 2022

Pristina – “Today is a great day for Pristina.  It is the centre of gravity of one of the greatest Berlin Process initiatives – the Western Balkans Digital Summit. Pristina today bursts and radiates with the dynamism of so many start-ups, companies, experts and policy ...

Bregu: Balkathon is the image and positive narrative of our thriving region in this exceptionally uncertain outlook
06 Sep 2022

Pristina - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presents winners of the third Western Balkans online competition for the best digital solutions, BALKATHON 3.0:

Bregu: 12 teams consisting of region’s youngsters to present their products at Balkathon finale
04 Sep 2022

Sarajevo – The finale of the third Western Balkans’ online competition for the best digital solutions, BALKATHON 3.0 is to take place on Tuesday, 6 September 2022, at the event starting at 10.00 hrs in Pristina, and live on the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) YouTube channel ...

Croatians Klara Sovagovic and Josip Lukic gets Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film
20 Aug 2022

Sarajevo - Klara Sovagovic and Josip Lukic, young Croatian directors, won Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film with a movie It's Not Cold for Mosquitoes, at the 28th Sarajevo Film Festival. This award, whose patron is the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), has been presented at ...

RCC's Instagram account under attack
03 Aug 2022

RCC’s official Instagram account was attacked yesterday and is inactive until further notice. If u notice any activity from our account please do not interact. Cyberattacks are very much real, especially on social media. Be careful and mindful.

Bregu: Having an environment that supports innovation and creativity helps our democracies to be stronger
28 Jun 2022

Tirana – “There is a political decision on when our economies will become full EU member states, but there is also a responsibility all of us carry on how to make our economies closer to the European standards present here in this region. So, for all of us who share a sense of discomfort ...

Bregu: We hope Butterfly Innovation Award will shine a light on the regional innovation community and its undiscovered potential
28 Jun 2022

Tirana – “This spring we launched the first Regional Butterfly Innovation Award. ‘What is now proved was once only imagination’- this Blake’s quote fits perfectly the 154 ideas in six competing categories - largely exceeded our boldest expectations. Women led almost ...

RCC to award six best innovative solutions from the Western Balkans
26 Jun 2022

Sarajevo/Tirana – The winners of the first Butterfly Innovation Award competition the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) launched in April this year are to be presented on Monday, 27 June 2022 in Tirana, Albania, on the side-lines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Western Balkans Steering ...

Bregu: Support of Western Balkan citizens to regional cooperation remains stable at 76%
24 Jun 2022

Brussels – “While many things change, our public and business perceptions surveys remain a truthful source of sentiments across the region. At times, the results surprise us, sometimes they serve as a wake-up call, while on other occasions they confirm that our efforts are not in ...

RCC to Present 2022 Balkan Barometer & SecuriMeter in Brussels on Friday
22 Jun 2022

Brussels/Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the 2022 editions of Balkan Barometer and SecuriMeter, on Friday, 24 June 2022, starting at 10:00, in Brussels. This is the 8th edition of Balkan Barometer, and the second one for Western Balkans SecuriMeter. The ...

Bregu: Establishing one single market should stay the ultimate goal of Western Balkans
17 Jun 2022

Ohrid – “Rome is not built in one day, and building a single market is easier said than done. The process of Western Balkans economic integration and its EU integration is not an easy one, but I hope it will not take us 35 years to get there, as it took the European Union to build ...

RCC Youth Lab Project hosts the final conference on youth employment in the Western Balkans
14 Jun 2022

Budva/Sarajevo – “Inadequate employment opportunities are one of the biggest problem young people face. One in 3 young persons are unemployed, which means the Western Balkans youth unemployment rate is almost double the EU rate of 17%. According to Balkan Barometer 2022 – ...

Dr. Erhard Busek Champion of Regional Cooperation
11 Jun 2022

Sarajevo/Thessaloniki – “In one of his last conveys he said: “Equating the EU with the Europe means leaving out a quarter of the continent – and a rather important part, as Eastern and Southeastern Europe border on world powers and vital regions.” Busek was gentle, ...

Bregu: We defined and put forward the leading regional cooperation & integration frameworks, now one market is the ultimate goal of Western Balkans
10 Jun 2022

Thessaloniki - The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Majlinda Bregu took part at the South East Europe Cooperation Process events - the meeting of SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Summit of SEECP leaders - in Thessaloniki today. The meetings’ participants ...

Bregu: As long as we continue to subscribe to dialogue, compromise and cooperation, we invest in long-term stability, security and prosperity
09 Jun 2022

Thessaloniki – “Under the political guidance of SEECP and in consultations with all relevant actors and stakeholders, RCC identified those gaps in which the region should invest with technical as well as political capital. These all fall under the category of sustainable development, ...

Champion of Regional Cooperation to round off 14th RCC Annual Meeting
08 Jun 2022

Sarajevo/Thessaloniki – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to hold its 14th Annual Meeting on Thursday, 9 June in Thessaloniki. RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu will present the RCC Annual Report and major accomplishments and results of the organisation in the past year while putting ...

Kapetanovic: Disinformation is neither an overnight phenomenon nor can it have an overnight solution
01 Jun 2022

Sarajevo - The Western Balkans has unfortunately always been susceptible to divisive narratives that always bring along hatred and violence. As the events unravel it is our constant responsibility to cultivate understanding and awareness of this phenomenon in our region. Good news is that the ...

Bregu: Regional cooperation is complex and hard hitting, but it’s the way forward
31 May 2022

Rotterdam – “Our realities today are drastically different, with the war in Ukraine sending shockwaves and exacerbating two trends that were already in the making: slowed growth and inflation. For an illustration, food and beverage prices increased between 7% in Albania and 13% ...

Balkathon 3.0 info session set for Friday, 27 May 2022
23 May 2022

Sarajevo - If you're interested in participating in the Balkathon 3.0 but aren't sure where to start, join us for a brief event this Friday, 27 May at 13:00 CET! During info session we will briefly explain all details about Balkathon registration process and answer on all your questions. ...

Bregu: With slowed growth & inflation, higher energy & food prices, Western Balkans will have to amp-up regional cooperation
18 May 2022

Sarajevo - It is very difficult to sugar-coat the severity of economic effects of the war on the Western Balkans. It is equally difficult to accurately predict the true and longer-term impact, or to identify the opportunities for the region along the way. Our realities today are drastically ...

Bregu: Removing barriers is the first step in positioning Western Balkans at the world tourism map 
12 May 2022

Tirana – “Tourism has a vast potential as a major catalyst for job creation and a driving force for economic growth and development especially for tourism dependent regions like ours. In 2019 more than 12 million people visited Western Balkans, which brought us a profit of 7.2 billion ...

RCC to host Western Balkans Ministerial Conference on Tourism Development
11 May 2022

Tourism has a great potential to accelerate progress and transform threats into opportunities

Balkathon 3.0 is on: RCC supports the best digital solutions in the Western Balkans
06 May 2022

Sarajevo – For the third time in a row, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is launching an online competition for the best digital ideas and solutions from the Western Balkans - Balkathon 3.0. Applications are open until 16 June. 

Bregu: Enhanced regional cooperation and clear enlargement prospect for the region are vital to overcome challenges
20 Apr 2022

Brussels/Sarajevo – “The war in Ukraine will affect economic growth in the region. Although share of economic output directly tied to Russia and Ukraine is relatively small for the Western Balkans as a whole, the economic ties on essential sectors such as energy and agriculture ...

Regional Cooperation Council and Roma Integration project Celebrate International Roma Day
08 Apr 2022

Belgrade – 8 of April is International Roma Day, a time to celebrate the culture, heritage, and accomplishments of Roma. The journey of Roma is one marked by injustice, but it is also a story of happiness, pride and satisfaction. Despite the challenges they face, Roma continue to move ...

WBYL: Giving Western Balkans’ youth an insight into the best EU practices and standards is a base for future regional transformative policies
07 Apr 2022

Ljubljana/Zagreb – “The best way to exchange knowledge and practice and to hear and see first-hand what it makes for successful and strong youth cooperation is to bring youth from the Western Balkans’ National Youth Councils or Youth Umbrella Organisations to the EU to witness ...

Imagine. Innovate. Create: RCC Launches Western Balkans Butterfly Innovation Award
31 Mar 2022

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is launching a Regional Butterfly Innovation Award seeking innovative, scalable and market-based solutions from the Western Balkans. The Butterfly Innovation Award fund is set at 30,000 EUR, where the best solution in each of the 6 categories ...

Bregu: European perspective important for socio-economic progress, but also for security and stability
16 Mar 2022

Sarajevo/Tirana – “The times we are living in are not glamorous, on the contrary these are dark moments. We are all heartened and deeply saddened by the unjust war Ukrainian people are going through. The economic impact of the war stretches beyond Ukraine's borders. Concern ...

Bregu: When women engage, take responsibilities, grow and help each other they can be a rising tide that lifts all boats
11 Mar 2022

Tirana – “The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is launching today the first Regional Women in Entrepreneurship Network in the Western Balkans. We will not boil the sea right away. But sometimes the smallest act can lead to the biggest impact. We will engage ourselves not only ...

Western Balkans: RCC to present ‘Women Who Launch – Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship’
08 Mar 2022

Sarajevo/Tirana – Instead of happy 8th of March, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is announcing the launching of the Western Balkans (WB) Regional Network of Women in Entrepreneurship, at an event taking place this Friday (11 March) in Tirana. The Launch will gather a number of ...

Miscevic: Emigration is a major challenge to the Western Balkans, but it could also be a great opportunity
24 Feb 2022

Belgrade – “War risks scrambling the logic of our common endeavour to make the Western Balkans a better region. But let me start with the information that by 2020 more than 4.6 million people have left the Western Balkans. People leave the region for various reasons, mainly because ...

Bregu: Western Balkans’ growth potential can be unlocked only through regional economic integration
20 Feb 2022

Munich – “European integration and transatlantic cooperation should not look decoupled in the Western Balkans (WB). It’s high time to put the process of EU accession of the WB into the spotlight before too late becomes a lifetime. This is the centre of gravity for the future ...

Youth are the ones whose opinions lead to progress of the region
19 Feb 2022

RCC’s Western Balkans Youth Lab organized Regional Youth Meeting with youth co-chairs in Skopje Skopje - “Western Balkans Youth Lab project is based on the inputs of Western Balkans youth and throughout the Project we have included young people in every step of the process. Now ...

RCC to recognise Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year
12 Feb 2022

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has a pleasure to announce that we are launching the Western Balkans Women Entrepreneurs of the Year initiative, one that will hopefully become a tradition, to recognise women who have started and developed their own business and contributed ...

Second Informal Donor Coordination Meeting on Western Balkans Youth Agenda held in Sarajevo
16 Dec 2021

Sarajevo – “Youth accounts for 21.27% or more than 20% of our entire population. They are our present and our future and I believe that all of us have to give our best to make sure that they stay in and contribute to this region now and in the years to come,” said Maja Handziska ...

Bregu: In January 2022 RCC will launch the first regional Butterfly Innovation Award to encourage young innovators around the region
16 Dec 2021

Bregu: In January 2022 RCC will launch the first regional Butterfly Innovation Award to encourage young innovators around the region RCC hosts the first Western Balkans Butterfly Innovation & Business Forum Skopje/Sarajevo – “On average, only 1 or 2 out of 100 caterpillars ...

Bregu: It will take 257 years to close the current gender gap worldwide
14 Dec 2021

Sarajevo – “Women in the Western Balkans account for only 27.5% of business owners and just 14.2% of companies’ top managers are females. Despite an evolving ecosystem of start-ups and innovation hubs in the Western Balkans, the number of women start-up entrepreneurs remains ...

Usein: The school dropout rate of Roma children increased by 11%, while every second Roma reported reduced income due to the impact of Covid-19
13 Dec 2021

Belgrade (13/12/2021) – “The regional analyses on the impact of Covid-19 on Roma in the region confirmed that the highest (negative) consequences for Roma are detected in the areas of employment and education. Three out of four Roma children did not receive any help during online ...

Bregu: By risking the youth potential we are risking the engine of a sustainable regional future
10 Dec 2021

Tirana/Sarajevo – “Statistics tell us that two thirds of young people would be willing to emigrate; that the total education costs of people who leave the region in one year vary from 840 million to 2.46 billion EUR; and that about one fifth are unemployed and nearly a quarter are ...

RCC: Western Balkans Youth Lab on Mental Help kicks off in Tirana
09 Dec 2021

Tirana – The Youth Lab on Mental Health, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Western Balkans Youth Lab Project (WBYL), has kicked off in Tirana today. 

Bregu: EU and Balkans security challenges are becoming ever more interrelated amidst new global threats
06 Dec 2021

Paris/Sarajevo – “The European Union and the Western Balkans security challenges are becoming ever more interrelated and connected to a set of a new global threats. We have to face that we are at an inflection point. We might soon be facing a crisis—a humanitarian and security ...

Bregu: Being Europeans is not written in DNA but what you believe and fight for
25 Nov 2021

“It’s not breaking news any longer that our youth is leaving the region. One out of 3 youngsters, age 18-24, in the Western Balkans confirms that they are ready to leave their homeland. We should understand the message – their choice of destination shows what’s missing ...

Bregu: The antidote to slowing down EU enlargement process is more ambitious integration of Western Balkans in the EU single market policies
15 Nov 2021

Brussels/Sarajevo: “European perspective of the Western Balkans is the drive that makes the process of cooperation beneficial to all in the long-term. I believe EU has all the leverage needed to keep the EU perspective in WB alive. Without a credible path to EU membership, the WB could ...

08 Nov 2021

RCC organised a webinar on Paradigm Change in Afghanistan to discuss possible implications for South East Europe Sarajevo - “Mismanagement of the sudden large influx of migrants in the Western Balkans has likely contributed to the fact that 70% of Western Balkan citizens believe that ...

Bregu: RCC takes pride in achieving more tangible results for Western Balkan citizens
26 Oct 2021

Belgrade – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has been awarded by the European Western Balkans for its unwavering commitment to the European future of the region, continued strengthening of regional cooperation and connecting the region by facilitating the Roam-Free-Western-Balkans, as ...

Youth-Tailored Solutions Require Youth Participation
26 Oct 2021

Sarajevo/Online – “Cooperation, innovative solutions, equality, participation - these are the things we need today more than ever, as we establish an environment in which youth and policy makers sit together to constructively explore the ways in which youth priorities and needs ...

15 Oct 2021

Sarajevo – “European perspective of Western Balkans is the drive that makes the process of cooperation beneficial to all in long-term. It is of highest importance that both the region and the EU deliver on the respective commitments – particularly when we take into account ...

Bregu proposes creation of ‘Digital Identity’ system for Western Balkan citizens, modelled on the EU one
13 Oct 2021

Podgorica – “We are racing to reach high standards of EU MS. Despite trying to run with the same speed as EU MS, we started our race later and hence we can never reach EU unless “phasing in” in EU policies is duly implemented,” said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General ...

RCC’s ESAP 2 project gathered its partners and beneficiaries at a 2-day hybrid event to discuss employment and social affairs
13 Oct 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – Western Balkans’ Social Scoreboard, and individual and regional overview reports on performance of the Western Balkan economies regarding the European Pillar of Social Rights, prepared by Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project of the Regional ...

Digital Solutions: Six new ‘made in Western Balkans’ products presented at the 4th Digital Summit
12 Oct 2021

Sarajevo/Podgorica – Six new ‘made in Western Balkans’ digital products have been presented at the 4th WB Digital Summit in Podgorica today. Authors of the products connecting digital with organic food, agriculture, sales, health, transportation services, small businesses, ...

10 Oct 2021

Sarajevo/Podgorica - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is once again supporting the biggest digital event in the region - the Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) - the forth in a row annual event on digital cooperation in the region. This year, WBDS will be hosted by the Montenegrin ...

Bregu: It is crunch time to deliver on reducing roaming costs between the EU and Western Balkans
06 Oct 2021

Brdo pri Kranju/Sarajevo – “As the agendas of regional cooperation build in intensity and challenges get bigger, we witness daily that the process of cooperation among Western Balkan Six cannot afford a stalemate,” said Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretary General, ...

Bregu, Escobar discuss regional economic integration
18 Sep 2021

Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu met with US State Department officials, including newly appointed US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Gabriel Escobar in Washington yesterday to discuss regional cooperation, single market in the region, security ...

Italy to host EU-Balkan Youth Forum in November
17 Sep 2021

Rome/Sarajevo – The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in partnership with the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), is going to host the EU-Balkan Youth Forum on 22-26 November 2021 in Rome. The Forum is to gather students from all over Europe to talk about ...

Bregu: It is time for youth to be louder and play smarter
07 Sep 2021

Skopje – “I would highly encourage you to leave the region. Yes, go abroad and see other cultures, but come back. Only by learning from others we can make our region better place for all of us and make a change. That is why we do not want to invent algorithm, but to make youth voices ...

Bregu: RCC to launch regional coalition on jobs and skills to keep youth in the region
06 Sep 2021

Skopje – “There is still high interest of youngsters to stay in the region. And this is our advantage. They are our greatest asset. They are the engine driving regional cooperation and EU accession because they see the opportunities and they do not carry the historic baggage of ...

Romanian Alexandru Mironescu gets Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film
20 Aug 2021

Sarajevo - Young Romanian Director, Alexandru Mironescu, with his movie Summer Planning, got a Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film, at an award ceremony of the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival held last night. The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is a patron of this award since its inception ...

Bregu: Cooperation between youth is crucial for the future of the region
13 Aug 2021

Sarajevo - For the 5th time in a row the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film at the 27th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), opening today and lasting until 20 August. 

98% of firearm incidents perpetrators in the region are men
16 Jul 2021

Sarajevo/Belgrade - 3,566 perpetrators of firearm incidents were reported in South East Europe (SEE) in 2020. For 2,700 perpetrators whose gender was specified, 98% or 2646 are men and only 2% or 54 are women, reveals the latest regional Armed Violence Monitor report, issued by the South Eastern ...

Bregu: Kinship, solidarity and political pragmatism give sense to regional cooperation, benefits of which have been proven time and time again
10 Jul 2021

Dubrovnik/Sarajevo – “It is not bureaucracy and business as usual agenda that gives a sense to regional cooperation. It’s kinship, solidarity and political pragmatism. That’s what we are trying to do. To give a face to valued cooperation in a process where people are ...

Kapetanovic: Addressing the spread of disinformation should be an integral part of the overall security policy
08 Jul 2021

Sarajevo – “SecuriMeter data show us that people of the Western Balkans perceive three areas of public life to be threatened by intentional disinformation: economy and finance (57%), trust in public institutions (54%), and trust in elected representatives (51%). With that in mind, ...

Bregu: Let the Roaming Free be the turning point for the regional cooperation - “Borderless Connectivity” benefits everyone
05 Jul 2021

RCC Secretary General Bregu takes part in the Berlin Process Summit hosted by German Chancellor Merkel Tirana/Berlin/Sarajevo – “We know regional cooperation will prevail on the strength of its ideas and ideals, not on the disputes and the name of documents. We know economies ...

Regional Roaming Agreement is clear: Roaming charges in the Western Balkans are now ZERO
02 Jul 2021

The Regional Cooperation Council is pleased and happy that the roam like at home has entered into force in the Western Balkans as of 1 July. We take pride and are happy that this successful process we facilitated in eliminating barriers, borders, and tariff related to mobile traffic in the ...

Bregu: 71% of young people from Western Balkans would go live and work abroad – this is an alarm bell for us all
02 Jul 2021

Ohrid – “The prospect of potential EU membership has been a driving force during all these years, for all Western Balkan economies. According to the Balkan Barometer data, the support of Western Balkans citizens of the EU membership is steadily increasing. Compared to 2016, when ...

Bregu: Discrimination against Roma remains very high, and we have to take actions to reduce and prevent it
28 Jun 2021

Sarajevo – “According to the Balkan Barometer 2021, around 40% of the businesses in the Western Balkans are still reluctant to hire Roma even when they meet the criteria. 63% of Western Balkan citizens do not want their children to share the classroom with Roma children. So, while ...

As of 1 July roaming in the Western Balkans will be 0 - Stay Charged, Roam Free
27 Jun 2021

Sarajevo – As of 1 July 2021 the entire Western Balkans will be a roaming free zone. Roaming costs between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will be zero. 

Bregu: People want and need to be connected in many ways and Roaming Free region is one of the ways enabling it
25 Jun 2021

Podgorica – “People want and need to be connected in many ways and Roaming Free region is one of the ways enabling it. Looking back three years ago, when the Western Balkan Leaders decided to lower the roaming prices within the region, no one had thought that we would have region ...

Bregu: Balkan Barometer reveals human uncertainty and vulnerability are main concerns followed by some goodish news on benefits of regional cooperation
24 Jun 2021

Tirana – “This, seventh in a row, Balkan Barometer shows human uncertainty and vulnerability are the main concerns followed by some goodish news which is the consciousness about the benefits of regional cooperation. For 49% of Western Balkan citizens, unemployment is the biggest ...

RCC to Present Balkan Barometer 2021 - Public and Business Viewpoints on Situation in our Region
22 Jun 2021

Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the 2021 edition of Balkan Barometer on Thursday, 24 June 2021, starting at 10:00, in Tirana. This is the 7th edition of annual public and business opinion survey commissioned by the RCC which examines Western Balkan citizens ...

Bregu: Voice, concerns, hopes & expectations of the people from the region are core of the RCC work
17 Jun 2021

Antalya – Leaders of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) approved the RCC-developed strategy for socio-economic development of South East Europe (SEE) in the next decade – SEE2030 Strategy, at their Summit held in Antalya, Turkey today. 

16 Jun 2021

Antalya – “Last year, ruled by the pandemic has definitely showcased the extent of our interconnectivity and interdependency and demonstrated that in cooperating, we boost our strengths and resilience. It is clear that regional socio-economic integration is crucial for regional ...

11 Jun 2021

Sarajevo/Online – “In 2019, the average employment rate in the Western Balkans (WB) grew to a historically high level, with new jobs being created throughout the region. New job creation by in large came to a halt in 2020 due to the effects of the coronavirus.  Despite overall ...

Bregu: The distance between the vision & plan for Common Regional Market calls for more resolute actions
10 Jun 2021

Tirana – “EU integration support in the Western Balkans continues to increase: this year it is backed up by 62% of citizens compared to 59% of last year. The support of our citizens and businesses of regional cooperation is even higher - 77% of citizens believe regional cooperation ...

Kapetanovic: Justice system professionals are key players in guaranteeing equal rights to all
09 Jun 2021

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in cooperation with the Council of Europe (CoE) Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) and GIZ Open Regional Fund for South East Europe - Legal Reform launched on 9 June the online course ‘Access to justice ...

Bregu: Common Regional Market is a rule of thumb, not a law of nature
08 Jun 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – “Common Regional Market (CRM) is a rule of thumb, not a law of nature. It doesn’t apply to every single national vision a government or economy in the region has, nor to every kind of good or bad bilateral relations. It is a broaden-and-build plan, endorsed ...

Bregu: With regional youth unemployment rate at 35.1% the need to act is clear, as youth is our most precious asset
31 May 2021

Sarajevo/Online – “Youth and jobs has not been a good combination in the Western Balkans for some time. The average regional youth unemployment rate in 2020 was 35.1%, which is more than double the European Union (EU) rate of 16.9%.  Some of it can be blamed on the COVID 19 ...

Bregu: Congratulations to all Balkathon winners who showed young people of our region are innovative and creative
28 May 2021

Sarajevo/ Podgorica/Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) presents winners of the second Western Balkans online competition for the best digital solutions, BALKATHON 2.0:

BALKHATHON 2.0 award ceremony: Six Best Teams to be Awarded for their Digital Solutions
27 May 2021

Sarajevo/Podgorica – Winners of the second Western Balkans’ online competition for the best digital solutions, BALKATHON 2.0 are to receive their awards tomorrow, 28 May 2021, at the final event starting at 10.00 hrs live on the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) YouTube channel ...

Bregu: 70% of Western Balkans citizens are afraid their children or young relatives might be radicalised online
24 May 2021

Sarajevo – “The current global pandemic made it clear that security threats are not taking any time off. The region finds it very important to work on addressing the security challenges in the Western Balkans. It is quite interesting that 55% of those 82% who point out organised ...

RCC to present Western Balkans SecuriMeter - the first-ever regional Public Opinion Survey on Security
23 May 2021

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) with support of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will present the first-ever regional Public Opinion Survey on Security issues – Western Balkans SecuriMeter on Monday, 24 May 2021, starting at 10:00 CET. ...

19 May 2021

You see yourself as the creator of new age? You have an idea that you want to develop? You seek an opportunity that will help your idea become reality? We have one word for you – Balkathon2.0

Bregu: Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever
19 May 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana–“Regional cooperation with clear, targeted goals and meeting deliverables is more urgent than ever. Establishing a Common Regional Market which will attract investors, support real added value of industries, promote innovation, ensure digitalization and bring the ...

Balkathon 2.0 Info Session Set for Friday, 14 May
11 May 2021

Sarajevo – With Balkathon 2.0 in motion for almost a week now, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organizing Info session day on Friday, 14 May 2021 at 13.00 for all interested participants. During the Info session the RCC staff will explain all details about Balkathon registration ...

Bregu: Region’s efforts on the Common Regional Market reform agenda are widely recognized & supported
07 May 2021

RCC hosts the first Donor Coordination meeting on Common Regional Market   Sarajevo/Tirana – “Region’s efforts regarding the Common Regional Market (CRM) reform agenda are widely recognized and supported, including at the recent G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ ...

BALKATHON 2.0 IS ON: Apply till 19 May and you can win mentoring and one of six awards from the 54.000 EUR award fund
05 May 2021

For the second time the RCC is organising an online competition for best digital solutions – Balkathon 2.0 Sarajevo – After last year’s successful Balkathon, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organising the second Western Balkans’ online competition for ...

Bregu: Cooperative policies won’t happen unless they have domestic support at home and we commit ourselves to meeting what was promised
04 May 2021

Roaming free Western Balkans Six as of 1 July: Stay Charged, Roam Free!  “1.4 million people in the Western Balkans are registered as unemployed. Out of that number, 760,000 are women, while 173,000 are young people. There are 1 million more men working in the Western Balkans ...

Bregu: 93% of young people in the Western Balkans believe public administrations should involve young people in decision-making
19 Apr 2021

Sarajevo, Tirana – “According to Balkan Barometer 2021, 93% of young people in the Western Balkans age 18-24 believe that public administrations should strengthen mechanisms for consulting and involving young people in decision-making. This clearly shows the path for all our further ...

Greater engagement of social partners in tackling undeclared work in the Western Balkans is much needed, authorities and social partners agree
19 Apr 2021

Sarajevo – “The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform 2 (ESAP 2) project aims to support regional cooperation among the Western Balkan (WB) economies in transforming undeclared work into declared work, pursuing a holistic integrated strategic ...

Balance between prevention and deterrence one of key elements for successful, structured approach to formalizing undeclared work
16 Apr 2021

Sarajevo – “COVID 19 pandemic introduced many new challenges to labour markets globally and in Western Balkans, as this region has low activity and employment rates on one hand and high rates of informal work on the other. Current times are very challenging and the pandemic is impacting ...

Bregu: Men outnumber women in the region’s labour force by more than a million
15 Apr 2021

Sarajevo/New York – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched today the Regional Network of Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as part of a RCC-UNDP joint initiative on Women Economic Empowerment ...

Bregu, Grlic-Radman discuss South East Europe Strategy 2030 and Green Lanes between EU and WB
14 Apr 2021

Sarajevo – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, welcomed the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlić-Radman, at the organisation’s headquarters in Sarajevo today. 

Western Balkans endorses Tirana Declaration to Support Tourism in the Region
08 Apr 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – Ministers and representatives of the six Western Balkans (WB) governments endorsed the Tirana Declaration on supporting sustainable tourism recovery and growth in the region, at the high-level regional conference marking the finalisation of the Regional Cooperation Council ...

Message on the occasion of 8 April, the International Roma Day
08 Apr 2021

Today we mark one of the most important days for all Roma: the jubilee 50th Anniversary of the First World Romani Congress held back in 1971 in London. 

Tirana Declaration endorsement to mark the finalisation of RCC’s Tourism Development and Promotion project
06 Apr 2021

Sarajevo, Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its Triple P Tourism Project are organising a 2-day Regional Conference - Tourism as a Key to Sustainable Development which will kick off on 7 April marking the finalisation of the RCC’s EU funded Triple P Tourism Development ...

Bregu: 69% of Western Balkans businesses believe quality of regional cooperation is important for quality of their business
17 Mar 2021

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, in its Sarajevo headquarters today, where he met with the RCC delegation led by the organisation’s Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu, discussing the regional cooperation ...

Bregu: 77% of Western Balkans citizens agree that the relations in the region are better than a year ago
11 Mar 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – “The months since our last meeting in October have been difficult with the onset of new Covid-19 waves and new variants of the virus turning things topsy-turvy with a downward spiralling. In terms of regional cooperation, the big good news was the success of the ...

RCC’s “WE’’ Campaign Continues: Only once you are authentic, can you truly bring your best into the business!
08 Mar 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana/Belgrade – “Business world is harsh for young people, especially women in Western Balkans, where they account for only 27.5% of business owners, and just 14.2% of companies’ top managers are female. Gender prejudices are not vanished yet, but there are always ...

Adapting Tourism Products for New Priority Markets webinars
05 Mar 2021

Elite Travel Group in association with RCC Triple P – Tourism Development and Promotion Project funded by the EU started a series of free webinars on 3rd March 2020 aiming to provide a rapid response for the post-pandemic Western Balkan tourism sector to restart.

Bregu: Futourismo is a new hope to help our region recover its tourism
02 Mar 2021

Tirana/Sarajevo – Seven teams from the Western Balkans: •    Guidi for app Veni, Vidi, Guidi  •    BIB for 'Be in Balkan' Mobile Application,  •    Digital Clinic for e-Health Tourism •   ...

Six Western Balkans projects aimed at helping region’s tourism to be awarded 15.000 EUR each, at a ceremony tomorrow
01 Mar 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – On 3 February 2021, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its Triple P Tourism Project launched the 1st regional FUTOURISMO competition, seeking innovative digital solutions that will help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the heavily affected ...

25 Feb 2021

Secretary General Bregu and Director Repansek sign Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations Ljubljana/Tirana/Sarajevo – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu,and Director of the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF), Jana ...

Roaming free Western Balkans as of 1 July 2021 brings the region one step closer to the WB-EU roaming charges reduction
23 Feb 2021

Sarajevo – “The signing of the Western Balkans Regional Roaming Agreement in April 2019 was a historic accomplishment and one of the key deliverables of the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans, producing tangible benefits for citizens while testing our commitment and confidence ...

RCC launches FUTOURISMO, regional competition to boost tourism in the Western Balkans
03 Feb 2021

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its EU funded Tourism Project are organising the first Western Balkans FUTOURISMO competition, seeking innovative digital solutions that will help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the heavily affected sector of tourism. 

Integrative Internal Security Governance (IISG) holds its 5th Board meeting for the first time under the RCC umbrella
02 Feb 2021

Sarajevo – The Western Balkan interior ministers adopted the annual work plan and the two methodologies of the Integrative Internal Security Governance (IISG), and also approved the membership of seven new IISG partners at the fifth meeting of the IISG Board held for the first time under ...

RCC: Supporting Western Balkans tourism through art
05 Jan 2021

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) nurtures a beautiful blossom in its midst, with a substance more resilient than any form we try to give to our incentives, the project that promotes tourism, the natural beauties and unique art of our blessed countries.

Bregu: We must change in order to provide healthier environment, cleaner air, to preserve fresh and drinking water, to survive
18 Dec 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana - "The overwhelming 74% of Western Balkans (WB) citizens see pollution as a problem, which is not surprising, considering that this region holds the most polluted cities in the world, because 70% of our electricity is produced by burning coal. Not only this, 16 thermal ...

Bregu: Instead of creating policies FOR youth we believe in co-creating policies WITH youth
14 Dec 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Brussels - “Youth makes 21% of Western Balkans population. If we know that youth unemployment in the Western Balkans is over 35%; that it takes around 2 years for a young person to land the job after the school; that 25% of youth are not in employment, education and training; ...

Bregu: Hire women, promote women and invest in women - that is our future
11 Dec 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/New York - "What we are launching today is a platform which will allow us all to strategise on how to best contribute to unlocking women power in the region. The reasons are obvious. Prior to pandemic, almost two-thirds of working-age women in the Western Balkans were either ...

RCC, UNDP to launch ‘Women’s Economic Empowerment: Areas for joint actions in the Western Balkans’ initiative
10 Dec 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will be launching an initiative, 'Women’s Economic Empowerment: Areas for joint actions in the Western Balkans', aiming to enhance collaboration among different stakeholders ...

‘Regional cooperation’ and ‘regional integration’ are the two sides of the same coin
07 Dec 2020

Brussels/Sarajevo - "‘Regional cooperation’ and ‘regional integration’ are the two sides of the same coin. Integrating markets might be more of a process of EU integration. But regional cooperation is more than integrating markets. It is a political process. That ...

Over-securitisation of illegal immigration can be dangerous, but neglecting its detrimental potential can be equally dangerous too
20 Nov 2020

Sarajevo – “Illegal immigration is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon which no single country can fix alone. We should take into account the opinion of 63% of Western Balkan citizens who perceive it as a direct security threat. Over-securitisation of this issue can be dangerous, ...

Addressing livelihood topics of social rights - jobs, wages, access to education, health care – more important than ever
19 Nov 2020

Sarajevo/Brussels/Tirana – “It is no longer news that Western Balkan societies fall short in many socio-economic aspects. We, together with our partners – governments in the region, European Union (EU) and many others, work to reduce this gap between the region and the EU. ...

17 Nov 2020

Online – “Main aim of our work being promotion of regional cooperation in transforming the undeclared into declared work in the Western Balkans has so far resulted in gathering of the relevant region’s institutions around the regional Network. Today, at its 2nd plenary meeting ...

Miscevic: We must work together on developing a culture of critical media literacy in our societies and build disinformation resilience
12 Nov 2020

Sarajevo - “We must immediately begin to work together on developing a culture of critical media literacy in our societies and build disinformation resilience. Developing resistance to fake news should be viewed almost like a key component of the overall security policy of any Western ...

Transformation will not happen overnight but setting bold goals will accelerate the change if we can work together
10 Nov 2020

Sofia - A new phase of regional economic integration started today with the Western Balkans Six leaders endorsing the Common Regional Market Action Plan, and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, both facilitated by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), at the Berlin Process Summit held ...

Western Balkan governments will have to shoulder responsibility to implement Common Regional Market
09 Nov 2020

Sofia - “Tomorrow the six Western Balkan leaders will endorse the new Action Plan for this region - Common Regional Market. Common Regional Market is not a novelty from the scratch: It is a great plan based on four freedoms, the same as EU Single Market, strengthened with investment, ...

RCC to assume SEEMIC Chairmanship in 2021
04 Nov 2020

While EU and the world are advancing to fit to the Digital Age, we need to run twice as fast to close the discrepancies
02 Nov 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – “At the last years' Digital Summit in Belgrade we witnessed a success story when the ministers of the Western Balkans (WB) six in charge of information and communication technologies signed the new Regional Roaming Agreement, paving a way for roaming free WB ...

Roma integration should not be a matter of empathy for a vulnerable group, but a matter of principle of treating equally all WB citizens
27 Oct 2020

We now pay between 83% and 96% less roaming charges in the entire Western Balkans, and as of July 2021 roaming costs will be 0
26 Oct 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – The Third Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) has been opened in Tirana today, continuing its legacy, which started at the WBDS Skopje in 2018 – the first ever WB DS that initiated digital policy dialogue on WB digital transformation at the highest prime ministers ...

Tirana to host Ministerial Meeting on Roma Integration: housing, civil registration, data collection & budgeting in focus
25 Oct 2020

Tirana - The Ministers responsible for integration of Roma in the Western Balkans economies will meet in Tirana on Tuesday to discuss the progress achieved in the first year of implementation of the Declaration on Roma Integration endorsed at the Poznan Summit last year. The Roma Integration ...

Tirana to host the 3rd Western Balkans Digital Summit
23 Oct 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is once again supporting the biggest digital event in the region - the Western Balkans Digital Summit (WBDS) - the third in a row annual event taking the digital cooperation to the next level. This year WBDS will be hosted by the ...

CRM is a stepping stone for the WB to align with EU single market rules
22 Oct 2020

Belgrade/Sarajevo – “Some estimates say that regional economic integration in the Western Balkans could generate up to 2.5% of GDP growth should the level of integration reach the level of EFTA, and should it reach the EU level of integration, it could generate 6.7% of GDP growth. ...

Bregu: The region needs common market to ensure free movement of business people, drivers and citizens in the Western Balkans
16 Oct 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Skopje - “We are not a perfect region, but we want to make the best out of an imperfect picture. As a first step from today the Regional Cooperation Council is proud to facilitate an all-inclusive regional agreement on movement with ID cards. Our commercial and trade relations ...

Bregu: Common Regional Market is the way forward
15 Oct 2020

Sarajevo, Tirana - “Multi Annual Action Plan for Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) is in its final stage of implementation. Now it’s clear that the region has benefited from this regional frame but is also ready for an upgrade. We have the Regional Roaming Agreement, Regional Investment ...

Economic integration among the Western Balkans 6, and with the EU, is the most important in this moment
01 Oct 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – “I believe that closer relations in the process of European integration of the region, especially economic integration among the Western Balkans (WB) 6, and with the EU, are the most important in this moment. Because regional economic integration of the WB is not ...

Gender equality does not concern only women, but the whole society and gender mainstreaming benefits men just as it does women
30 Sep 2020

Sarajevo – “The good news is that the percentage of women in armed forces in Western Balkans is increasing. According to regional ministries of defence, the share of women soldiers is 13% in Albania, 8,46% in BiH, 5% in North Macedonia, 8,17% in Montenegro and 15,68% Serbia. NATO ...

30 Sep 2020

Sarajevo – “Informal economy is a chronic problem of many economies, Western Balkans’ in particular, as estimates show that up to 30% of the employed persons in the region work undeclared. Today’s meeting is about to explore ways on how all institutions in charge of ...

Bregu: With joint border crossing points Western Balkans could save 800 mil euro a year – we should set them among WB but also with EU
22 Sep 2020

Sarajevo/Skopje/Belgrade – “If we would have more joint border crossing points and if those would be working 24/7, with all the regulation in place, phytosanitary proc

02 Sep 2020

Sarajevo – “The world we live in has never been more connected. The number of Internet users has exceeded 4.5 billion, so 60% of world population is already online, and more than a half will be using social media by the end of 2020. Western Balkans is not legging behind these numbers; the ...

28 Aug 2020

Bratislava/Tirana/Sarajevo – “What would we expect from a more geopolitical EU? Simple: Clear and bold decisions to acknowledge the good of having Western Balkans in the EU as well as the damage associated with long prolong EU membership. Western Balkans citizens would expect more resilient ...

20 Aug 2020

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is delighted to confirm that the young director Ms Zeynep Dilan Süren from Turkey with the movie “The Great Istanbul Depression” won the Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film, an award Powered by RCC since the inception of this ...

16 Aug 2020

Sarajevo – “I am happy the RCC put youth and resolving issues they are facing, especially related to their career developments, and jobs in focus, with our EU-funded Youth Lab project that was launched beginning this year, but also through a series other activities, including our support ...

13 Aug 2020

Sarajevo – For the 4th time in a row the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), which this year, due to the corona virus pandemic, goes fully online.

16 Jul 2020

Sarajevo – Miron Lukač on behalf of Portal World Team from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albana Mucaj on behalf of the Kallz Training Center Team from Albania, and Dritan Mollanji on behalf of Symmetric Team from Albania were awarded for their best innovative solutions for Smart Tourism, Digital ...

15 Jul 2020

Sarajevo -   1st Regional BALKATHON ends tomorrow, 16 July 2020, with selection of the 3 best innovative digital solutions out of 88 applicants from the Western Balkans, at the final online session.

03 Jul 2020

RCC’s Western Balkans Youth Lab and Employment and Social Affairs Platform Projects organized webinar tackling policymaking and youth unemployment in the region Sarajevo – “Numerous stories of unemployed young people across the region who want the leave in pursuit of a job and better ...

02 Jul 2020

Sarajevo - Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organising the first online Western Balkans’ Balkathon competition to trigger digital innovative and practical business solutions. The regional online Balkathon aims to help the Western Balkans citizens and businesses to recover from effects ...

01 Jul 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana – “On this date a year ago we started paying less money for our phone bills, as the Regional Roaming Agreement entered into force reducing roaming costs across the region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), as much ...

25 Jun 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo/Prishtina – The two meetings have been held today within the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) - the meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the RCC Annual Meeting, which RCC co-organised with the outgoing Kosovo SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office ...

24 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “The regional cooperation continues to grow in prominence with an overwhelming majority of citizens supportive of its role in improving the political, economic and security situation in their home economies - 77%, and 65% of them believes that what brings WB citizens ...

23 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will present 2020 edition of Balkan Barometer on Wednesday 24 June 2020. This annual public and business opinion survey of the RCC examines the perception and expectations on life and work, prevalent socio-economic and political trends & ...

16 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Gent Cakaj, visited the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) office in Sarajevo today on the sidelines of his official visit to Sarajevo and meetings with highest Bosnia and Herzegovina’s officials.  Minister Cakaj said that ...

12 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “The global pandemic caused by the COVID 19 virus has had a profound impact on businesses and workers, as well as economies across the Western Balkans. The undeclared workers, however, have been disproportionately affected since they generally work in low productivity jobs ...

10 Jun 2020

Sarajevo/Brussels – Good news for the region come from the Brussels today as Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) Steering Committee approved eight grant applications for technical assistance from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* and Serbia, at its session held online today. ...

08 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “These are very difficult times for the Western Balkans’ tourism as the consequences of the global corona virus pandemic took the highest toll on travel and tourism industries. For our region it is especially important to find the ways to support these industries and help them ...

01 Jun 2020

Sarajevo/Belgrade/Zurich – “Benefits of digital technologies are multi-fold. Not only they can generate greater benefits from macroeconomic perspective but could also ease procedures and make borders less visible, processes less heavy, supply of new services to customers simpler and businesses ...

26 May 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Geneva - “Still unpublished latest edition of the RCC’s annual public and business survey for the Wester Balkans -  Balkan Barometer 2020 shows that, as expected, internet was extensively used for communication purposes with the proliferation of social media (69%), ...

22 May 2020

Sarajevo/Belgrade – “All economic and social development agendas, crucial for the development of our region and its EU-accession journey have to be accompanied by the equal efforts of environment protection and climate change responses. Biodiversity, in that context, is high on ...

19 May 2020

Sarajevo – The Western Balkans not rarely offers shocking facts about youth. From brain drain to labour migration, from mismatch of diplomas with labour market, prejudices or steep unemployment figures. We have decided to act by example. About 20% of all employees in the Regional Cooperation ...

18 May 2020

18th May is International Museum Day and today we are coming together to celebrate the history, art and cultural heritage throughout the museums in the Western Balkans. Museums around the world have closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, meanwhile their virtual tours are still open and ...

14 May 2020

Sarajevo – “For all its aggressiveness, the COVID-19 crisis also offers glimmers of hope. It has connected Western Balkans even more, this time in a fight against an invisible enemy. It has persuaded us that cooperation should be resilient. It has created a common awareness that ...

08 May 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana – “Italy has once again given a helping hand to the Western Balkans, and for that we are very grateful. Our Italian friends so generously shared with us their experience and operational protocols for treatment of patients infected with COVID 19. We, the RCC, had this modest ...

06 May 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Zagreb - Now, almost 4 years after we initiated the work on Regional Economic Area (REA) the region is ready to embark on the next phase of deepening regional economic cooperation assure the WB6 economies to have ownership first, and bringing the region closer to the EU internal ...

30 Apr 2020

Sarajevo – In an attempt to address high digital skills gap present in the Western Balkans and especially obvious in the current situation of economies’ lockdown when many jobs have moved from onsite to online, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) initiated and hosted the first meeting ...

23 Apr 2020

Sarajevo – In an attempt to address high digital skills gap present in the Western Balkans and especially obvious in the current situation of economies’ lockdown when many jobs have moved from onsite to online, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) initiated and hosted the first ...

18 Apr 2020

Sarajevo – “As this pandemic keeps billions of people at home, one sector is already feeling the pinch - tourism.  One in five booked trips to Western Balkans planned for 2020 is cancelled. And this makes situation notoriously difficult, knowing that tourism contributes to 10.2% of ...

08 Apr 2020

Belgrade/Sarajevo – “To all my fellow Roma, I would like to congratulate 8th of April, the International Roma Day, which marks Roma history, culture, language and heritage. Unfortunately, this year the celebration must take place under extraordinary circumstances, due to the COVID-19 ...

07 Apr 2020

Sarajevo - On 6 April, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted an online consultative meeting of South East Europe National Security Authorities (SEENSA) participants, in order to set the course for the implementation of planned activities in light of the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, ...

24 Mar 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – “Good news for us today as the EU Member States reached a long overdue political agreement to open the accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, confirming that the future of the Western Balkans is in Europe. I wholeheartedly congratulate both Albania and North ...

23 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – On the initiative of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), representatives of the Governments from South East Europe, European Union (EU) and regional stakeholders are working on the establishment of the Green Corridor within the region and between the Western Balkans (WB) ...

20 Mar 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, spoke last night at the Tirana based RTV Klan’s Opinion show, about the major distress in the region after the European Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/402, which imposes ...

19 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – Ivana Todorovska is a smart hard-working young woman, a student of Analytical Biochemistry at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje. Ivana’s message to all of us, young women and girls in particular, is that although it is very hard to become a scientist, ...

18 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – “These are days of rapid developments by a minute, both at the level of EU and our region and timing, information sharing and coordination is of essence. Cooperation is crucial in having the effective response to fight the pandemic. 

08 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – “We are in the 3rd decade of 21st century and yet the tales of successful business women are not frequent but rather breaking news. In the Western Balkans even more so as only 1 in 5 women owns a business. And not only that – employment rate of women in the region in 2018 was ...

05 Mar 2020

Tirana – “Numbers speak louder than words on the scope of vulnerability of youth to online radicalisation and violent extremism, often leading to terrorism. The World Bank finds that 23% of youngsters in the Western Balkans, aged between 16-24, are neither in school, job, nor in training, ...

04 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – “With the award of the eight new grants to be implemented over the next six months throughout the Western Balkans, we have reached the total number of 36 tourism development and promotion grants, which well exceeds the originally set target to have some 30 development ...

03 Mar 2020

Skopje – “Security challenges of our times are indeed very many - from an outbreak of deadly viruses to outbreak of violent extremism, often leading to terrorist attacks, and fake news not meant to inform, but to mislead. And on top of that journalism is confronted with yet another ...

21 Feb 2020

BELGRADE – “We are very pleased to have used today, the Belgrade International Fair of Tourism, as a staging ground for the launch of the new joint regional cultural tourism route called the Balkan Monumental Trail,” said Snjezana Derviskadic, RCC’s Tourism Development and Promotion ...

21 Feb 2020

Tirana – “Without a strategic innovation function that can enhance the capacities to incubate and accelerate new technologies, companies in the Western Balkans will continue to stockpiling undeveloped inventions and this will not return in an investment. We risk falling into the trap of ...

17 Feb 2020

Brussels – “As an Albanian, I’m overwhelmed and most emotional by the immense support shown here today. The November earthquake was maybe the longest minute of my life so far. It is heartbreaking to hear testimonies of those who lost their dearest ones and face the uncertainty of the ...

10 Feb 2020

10 Feb 2020

Pristina – “There are achievements, success stories, but there are also bilateral disputes in our region as well as a lot of mistrust and suspicion. Bilateralism sometimes threatens to diminish regionalism. But what is the art of diplomacy if not finding a way to work around disputes ...

31 Jan 2020

Berlin – “Nearly half of all respondents of the RCC’s Balkan Barometer are unhappy with the security situation in their economy - with estimates that five out of the six surveyed economies, Albania excluded, make the world’s top 20 list for civilian gun ownership. However we are happy ...

31 Jan 2020

Berlin – The Republic of France has decide to re-join the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), announced French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the high-level meeting of the Franco-German Coordination Initiative on Small Arms and Light Weapons Control in the ...

30 Jan 2020

Brussels – “2020 is a critical year for the region and mutual relations between the EU and the Western Balkans but also for unhindered economic growth. RCC remains a reliable partner of the EU in the region but also a reliable partner of the region in the EU. We all have high hopes and ...

28 Jan 2020

Sarajevo – “More than 700 000 jobs have been added to the workforce during the past seven years and unemployment has moved for almost a quarter (23%) to around 16%, across the region. They say a tide lifts all boats, large and small. However, not everybody benefited from these economic and ...

17 Jan 2020

Tirana – “In times when politics is in critical condition, Parliamentary dialogue between the Western Balkans and EU on the future of the region is much needed.  Therefore I would propose to start an institutionalised dialogue In this regard, and the regional Cooperation Council (RCC) ...

08 Jan 2020

RCC’s Women Empowerment - WE- campaign continues featuring remarkable women from the Western Balkans and brings you Uta Ibrahimi - “At the beginning they told me climbing was for men and I did a lot of work to prove them wrong and change that mentality. You can do the same, just listen ...

27 Dec 2019

Sarajevo  - At the end of 2019, it is time to wrap up the year, summing up activities of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and announcing our future plans: Here is the statement of our Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu on this occasion: 

25 Dec 2019

Sarajevo – There have been many discrepancies and a lack of clear information on the role of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in the so called “Mini-Schengen” initiative meetings. Regional Cooperation Council is invited to “Mini-Schengen” meetings together with EU, ...

21 Dec 2019

Tirana – “We at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) are pleased to see that this regional initiative places primary focus on people, particularly that it clearly outlines our ultimate destination – the European Union (EU). We also welcome ambitious list for the next meeting already ...

13 Dec 2019

Belgrade - The RCC’s Roma Integration 2020 project held its fourth Task Force meeting in Belgrade on 12 and 13 December 2019. The key stakeholders of the project reviewed the status of activities in the seven participating economies, discussed the status of implementation of the Declaration ...

11 Dec 2019

Brussels - In the margins of the Western Balkan Sherpas meeting, which took place in Brussels today in the run-up to the EU-Western Balkans Summit in May 2020, the European Commission reinforced its support to regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. The signed contract for continued cooperation ...

05 Dec 2019

Trieste – “83% of Europeans agree that fake news is a threat to democracy, yet it has become a new normalcy, sitting between a freedom of speech and freedom to hate. Fake news is vastly contributing to hate speech which adds fuel to the fire of nationalism and violent extremism, especially ...

03 Dec 2019

Brussels – “Time to end pretence!  EU should honour its Treaty and come with a clear stand on the accession process of the Western Balkans. Thanks to the new EU Commission president  Ursula von der for clearly articulating the vision of Europe as a continent. We hope ...

02 Dec 2019

Brussels – “The region is at a different landscape. It is high time to address challenges and sensitivities with a clearer and ambitious vision. We are initiating the process of the new economic vision beyond 2020 in close consultation with all six Western Balkan (WB) economies and ...

02 Dec 2019

SARAJEVO – As the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project enters its final stage, the RCC published the 3rd Call for Proposals for the award of tourism development grants in the Western Balkans. The total value of the call is ...

22 Nov 2019

Durres – “Today, with presenting the results of the completed 12 and awarding 16 new grants for the tourism development and promotion in the Western Balkans, we are showing you a part of the success story from this region, and it is not a success of policy-making or GDP but of the people. ...

21 Nov 2019

Zagreb – “Both Europe and Western Balkans are changing demographically, frequently as a model of ‘sending’ and ‘receiving’ countries, as most of around 230,000 citizens have legally migrated from the region to the EU in 2018 alone, while more than 5 million (or 1/4 of the actual ...

19 Nov 2019

Zagreb – “Priorities of the Croatian 6-month Presidency of the European Union (EU) Council beginning in January 2020 stressing the usage of full potential of infrastructure and human resources, connectivity and networking of the economies, mesh well with the regional cooperation goals ...

18 Nov 2019

Skopje – “We will be bigger. As of next year the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will coordinate one of the most important agendas of the region: security. Security threats do not need any visa or border checks”, said the RCC's Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu after today’s 4th ...

12 Nov 2019

Sarajevo – “We have been asked and received a lot of questions on Novi Sad and Ohrid meetings, the so called “mini-Schengen” and our role in this.

10 Nov 2019

Ohrid – “The Regional Cooperation Council supports all initiatives that contribute towards an EU ‘single market’-like agenda for our region, based on the four freedoms. The initiatives should fully mirror the EU models and in such a way represent a stepping stone to our full EU integration”, ...

08 Nov 2019

Geneva – “I know that from our point of view it is sometimes hard to grasp that we are living in times of the world’s Fourth Industrial Revolution. But we are, and the region needs all incentives available to cope with it, and use it for its best advantage and harvest economic growth ...

08 Nov 2019

Non-governmental organisations from Albania, Kosovo* and Serbia joined today Via Dinarica regional coordination structure during a meeting organised by the RCC implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project in Tirana.

07 Nov 2019

It is 11 o’clock on an idle Monday and about to start raining in a tiny village of Rekë e Allagës in Rugova Mountain, all green with pine trees. Fetije Nikiqi is well under way to prepare cheese pie in a wooden stove while Hozefa Indorewala looks to the sky from the porch thinking just how ...

07 Nov 2019

Ljubljana - “The role of women in armed forces is an important topic and I am pleased we are discussing it today in Ljubljana in particular, as Slovenia sets a remarkable example for the region with the ratio of over 70% of women making up its Armed Forces. Especially when we know that nowhere ...

06 Nov 2019

Sarajevo – “I am pleased to announce that the new methodology we proposed for mapping of illegal settlements in which Roma live will be applied, as pilot projects, in two municipalities per each of the Western Balkans six (plus Turkey?) aiming to replicate it later across the region," ...

05 Nov 2019

Istanbul – “The women unemployment in the Western Balkans is 60%. Analyses show a big mismatch in the labour market(s) between the demands and offered sets of skills and knowledge. Almost half of the students in the region enrol into the Humanities, Social Sciences and Business study ...

30 Oct 2019

Tirana – “Instead of having a focused discussion on Connectivity agenda and how much out of the 1 billion euro of the European Union’s (EU) grants from 2015 to 2020 was spent or how important connecting people and markets in the region is, etc. this October, this meeting included, the ...

25 Oct 2019

Tirana – The year 2020 will be devoted to further strengthening the capacities of the National Security Authorities (NSA) in industrial security and cyber security, as concluded at the meeting of Heads of NSA from South East Europe (SEENSA), held in Tirana on 24 October 2019.

23 Oct 2019

Sarajevo – “They say what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. This is what happened to me, literally. I discovered the bump entirely by accident, by self-examination. Soon after that I went through tests, and the rest is history. Self-exam is important, but it is also important ...

18 Oct 2019

Belgrade – „Six cities in the Western Balkans (WB) are among the top 20 cities with the highest air pollution in the world, and air pollution is the single biggest environmental threat to human health. Cancer and tumor, the most serious health concerns in the region, are linked ...

17 Oct 2019

Sarajevo – “While awaiting the European Union’s Summit’s official decision on the opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia today, for us in the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and for the entire region as well, it is quite important to reiterate ...

15 Oct 2019

Sarajevo – “Informal employment is work that is legal in itself but not declared to the authorities for tax, social security and/or labour law purposes. As such, it plays an important role in all Western Balkan economies, as widespread informality deprives governments of potential tax revenue, ...

07 Oct 2019

Salzburg – “Keeping the regional cooperation alive is a task that is easier said than done. For example, we had a very good, successful, story in the digital component of the Regional Economic Area in the Western Balkans – Regional Roaming Agreement, which confirmed that whenever there ...

04 Oct 2019

Tirana – “Albania and Northern Macedonia are eagerly awaiting mid-October's decision on opening of the EU negotiations, which reflects on the entire region, as a necessity to maintain the reforms under way and take the next step in the European integration process. So, it is not a coincidence ...

25 Sep 2019

New York/Sarajevo - “Two months ago in Poznan, we launched a challenge for the region: a free travel agreement - based on the spirit and the word of already existing set of bilateral agreements which allow free travel with ID cards. This regional agreement should be facilitated by RCC as ...

24 Sep 2019

New York/Sarajevo – “It’s beyond Poznan time, which makes it the right moment for the Western Balkans to show its strengths and ownership on the EU future of the region. We should address shortcomings of the Regional Economic Area and adjust it to fit our realities – include social ...

15 Sep 2019

Sarajevo – Statistics show that more than 700.000 new jobs were created in the past 7 years in the Western Balkans, but only 4.3% of these were taken up by youth under 24 years of age. For a young person it takes about 2 years to get a job.

03 Sep 2019

Bled – „European Union will always be an unfinished business without the Western Balkans. The price for stagnation and postponing further the decision on the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is, in short, a risk. The non opening would bread instability, ...

23 Aug 2019

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is delighted to confirm that the young director Nikola Stojanovic from Serbia with the movie “Sherbet” won the Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film, an award Powered by RCC since the inception of this competition category, at the ...

20 Aug 2019

Sarajevo – For the 3rd time in a row the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film at the 25th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF). We continue to support creative young filmmakers in pursuit of their own path and professional development, ...

09 Jul 2019

Sarajevo – “By thanking Bosnia and Herzegovina for excellent cooperation in the past year of their Chairmanship-in-Office (C-i-O) of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), their contribution in leading and advancing regional cooperation through the SEECP framework, I would ...

08 Jul 2019

Sarajevo – „A year behind us was a dynamic one and we are prepared to continue just as dynamic in the next one. We, at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) are ready and keen to embark on any challenges ahead of us but we cannot do it without the full support of our regional and European ...

07 Jul 2019

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the 5th, 2019 edition of its public and businesses viewpoints survey – Balkan Barometer (BB) at the Annual meeting of the organisation that is taking place on 8 July 2019 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

05 Jul 2019

  Poznan – “Two years after the Western Balkans’ (WB) Prime Ministers endorsed the Multi-annual Action Plan for the Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) in Trieste the region has not fully embraced the opportunities offered by the Regional Economic Area. Flows of goods, services, ...

04 Jul 2019

Poznan – “Two years since the endorsement of Multi-annual Action plan on Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) in Trieste and one year since London our region can show only a mixed track record at best. Western Balkans (WB) did not fully embrace Regional Economic Area (REA) and as a result ...

04 Jul 2019

Poznan – “There's no better way to stress the need for stepping up the regional cooperation than quoting the citizens and businesses of the Western Balkans (WB) who overwhelmingly, with 74% and 67% respectively, believe in regional cooperation. The recent success with dropping of roaming ...

01 Jul 2019

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is happy to announce that as of today, roaming prices across the entire Western Balkans (WB) have dropped drastically. Citizens of the WB will be able to speak, surf, SMS much more and pay much less. 

28 Jun 2019

Sarajevo -  #EU2U-EUrope in my eyes video/photo Contest that the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) launches today aims to encourage video/photo creativity of young people who would, through their video or photo creations, show what they like about European Union (EU) and Europe in general. 

18 Jun 2019

London – “Share of the European Union (EU) in both Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and exports in the region is well over 70%. For all the talk about the growing Russian and Chinese economic clout in the Western Balkans six (WB6), only 3% of exports in 2018 went to Russia, and less than ...

14 Jun 2019

Luxemburg – “Years in a row our opinion survey Balkan Barometer shows that unemployment is the biggest concern for 67% of the citizens in the Western Balkans (WB), and our alarms should have already gone off, triggering adequate reactions. This region has talent everywhere but their skills ...

13 Jun 2019

Berlin – “It is not just about enlargement any longer but rather about unification of Europe because the European Union (EU) without Western Balkans (WB) is incomplete. This region is Unions geostrategic interest zone. On the other hand, coming from the region, I would like to see the Western ...

10 Jun 2019

SARAJEVO – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), under its Tourism Development and Promotion EU funded project, launched today the second in a row grant call for projects developing the tourism offer in the Western Balkans. While the grants scheme totals EUR 1.62 million, this second tranche ...

08 Jun 2019

Bratislava – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu, met with Minister of foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Miroslav Lajcak, in Bratislava today. The two officials discussed the upcoming Western Balkans’ Berlin Process Summit in Poznan in July, in ...

08 Jun 2019

PEJE/PEČ  - Community Development Fund, beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded tourism development grant scheme, organize today a FAM trip for tour operators and media to inaugurate 6 newly developed sections of Via Dinarica trail in Kosovo* connecting it with the trail portions ...

07 Jun 2019

Bratislava – “The EU without the Western Balkans will never be complete. But it cannot assume that business as usual will provide stability in the Western Balkans. It should take a much more political and strategic approach in the region. Let’s move from “geopoetics” to geopolitics. ...

07 Jun 2019

PODGORICA - A new attraction for hikers of Via Dinarica’s White Trail passing through Tara River Canyon in Montenegro was presented today in Podgorica. 

07 Jun 2019

ZUBIN POTOK - A brand new regional hiking trail running across Mokra Gora Mountain from Montenegro, across Kosovo* to Serbia was inaugurated today in Zubin Potok. The trail was developed by the Institute for Territorial Economic Development – InTER through an RCC implemented and EU funded ...

06 Jun 2019

TIRANA – Stunningly beautiful nature of the Accursed Mountains settled between Albania, Kosovo* and Montenegro just got its cultural edge. From now on, colourful legends, verbal history, songs, dances, crafts and cuisine of local communities living in remote mountainous villages are going ...

05 Jun 2019

NOVI SAD – With the summer at our door, the Western Balkans cultural tourism offers just got richer. EXIT Foundation, a beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded tourism development grant scheme and a winner of the RCC’s champion of regional cooperation award, launched today in Novi ...

05 Jun 2019

DANILOVGRAD - Danilovgrad Municipality, through an RCC provided and EU funded tourism development grant, has revived three fortresses in three Western Balkans economies. 

05 Jun 2019

The way regional budget programs are designed in their current financial systems, seem to be rigid and lack flexibility of intervention either to introduce a new product related directly to Roma budgeting, or to measure its efficiency. 

04 Jun 2019

Belgrade – Ministers in charge of education from the Western Balkan (WB) economies have welcomed the Declaration on Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications in the Western Balkans, at the  8th Ministerial  Meeting of the Western Balkans  Platform on Education  and ...

31 May 2019

Podgorica – Monitoring Committee of the South East Europe 2020 (SEE2020) Strategy, convened by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), met for the 8th time in Podgorica today to review the 1st Draft Annual Report on Implementation of the Strategy (ARI). 

30 May 2019

Subotica – The latest Western Balkans tourism attraction – a 500 kilometres long horseback riding route running from Vojvodina in the north to Hercegovina in the south – was inaugurated today in Subotica. 

29 May 2019

Ljubljana – “The issue of cyber security in general but also in the context of fight against terrorism and online radicalization has become a new security hot spot and challenge at national, regional and global level. This is why cyber security is one of the  priorities of the Regional ...

28 May 2019

Bucharest – “Young people are one fifth of the overall population of the Western Balkans (WB), and they are the most educated share of our workforce. Still, we haven’t managed to create a system of opportunities for these young people to work and engage in their societies in the region, ...

27 May 2019

Istanbul – “Much needed sustainable transformation of the region into a knowledge-based economy with equal opportunities for all citizens is a comprehensive agenda. It combines innovation, research and development, education, employment and social inclusion policies. We cannot continue ...

24 May 2019

Brussels – “Western Balkans (WB) is a welcoming environment for investments, with corporate profit tax rates ranging from 9% to 15%, being among the lowest in Europe and monetary and financial systems strongly dependent on euro. And yet, one of our the strongest assets is human resource ...

22 May 2019

Pristina – “The youth are extremely exposed group to various forms of emerging challenges in our region, as more than 20% of them between 16 and 25 years of age have no job, are not involved in training education, and 1 out of 2 want to leave their homeland not believing in betterment of ...

18 May 2019

Skopje - Starting today, visitors of the Skopje Old Town, Čaršija, will be able to experience it in a completely new way. Coming to their service is the mobile application – Skopje Gems - that provides seven guided cultural tours through Čaršija and takes visitors to the doorsteps of ...

16 May 2019

Sarajevo – “It is stock-taking time, to see what the RCC has been doing, both the accomplishments and the effects of the regional cooperation process on the people in the region, with many of the most pressing issues in the Western Balkans embedded in our work”, said Secretary General ...

14 May 2019

SARAJEVO - Among the Western Balkans cultural tourism routes that the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion project is currently developing, is the so called Balkan Monumental Trail that encompasses region’s iconic World War II (WWII) monuments. 

13 May 2019

Brussels – “One month after the signing of the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA2) for the Western Balkans (WB) at the Digital Summit on 4 April 2019 in Belgrade, the focus is on steps needed to ensure its smooth, uniform and efficient implementation. WB citizens and all our partners ...

10 May 2019

Sarajevo – The time has come for the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) to announce the winners of its #looking4summer photo/video contest featuring summer beauties of the South East Europe (SEE), which were selected in a joined excercise of Instagram and Facebook users and the RCC crew. ...

09 May 2019

Sarajevo – “Western Balkan economies are united by need and a sense of emergency and awareness that there is a clear reason why regions come together in the world. Divided we cannot stand, because we are small economies, each one with its own problems. But all together we could be an interesting ...

07 May 2019

SARAJEVO - Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures (SMOC), beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Grant Scheme, presented today in Sarajevo a new regional tourism route based on cultural diversity of the Western Balkans. 

29 Apr 2019

Brussels – For the past few days Brussels replaced its political foretoken as a European political centre and became a hub for Western Balkan art and culture. The 13th edition of Balkan Trafik! Festival (BTF), which took place 24-28 April, promoted the best of the Western Balkans (WB) and ...

26 Apr 2019

Sarajevo – “Share of informal/undeclared employment in the region varies from 18,1% in Republic of North Macedonia to 33% in Montenegro1 ,”said Nand Shani, Team Leader of the Regional Cooperation (RCC)’s Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP). Tackling this widespread ...

26 Apr 2019

SARAJEVO – 13th edition of the Balkan Trafik! Festival which promotes cultures of the South East Europe through theatre, literature, cinema, music, graphic arts, gastronomy, street art, and workshops is taking place in Brussels from 24 to 28 April 2019.

25 Apr 2019

Belgrade – Planning of most viable itineraries along the two new Western Balkans cultural routes that are currently under development was the main topic discussed by the representatives of tourism agencies and tour operators from the region, at the meeting organized by the Regional Cooperation ...

24 Apr 2019

Sarajevo – Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) took part in the coordination meeting of the Berlin Process focusing on the preparations for the July 2019 Western Balkans summit in Poznan, in Sarajevo today. 

23 Apr 2019

Tirana – The seventh meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Group of National Focal Points (NFP Group) for Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in South East Europe (SEE) is held in Tirana today.

19 Apr 2019

Sarajevo - The European Commission recently launched the #DigitalRespect4Her Campaign to raise awareness about online violence against women and promote good practices to tackle this issue.

19 Apr 2019

BELGRADE - Danube Competence Center (DCC), beneficiary of the RCC Tourism Development and Promotion Project’s grant scheme, funded by the European Union, introduced yesterday in Belgrade the new and upcoming Western Balkans branch of the Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route’s called the ...

18 Apr 2019

Zagreb – Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) paid an official visit to Zagreb today within the series of political consultations in the South East Europe (SEE). During the visit she met with Marija Burić Pejčinović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ...

17 Apr 2019

Sarajevo - Gazmend Turdiu, Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) moderated the Leaders Panel dedicated to the ‘One Region, One Economy’ concept as a vision for the future of Western Balkans, at the 10th edition of Sarajevo Business Forum (SFB) that kicked ...

16 Apr 2019

Tirana – „The level of civic trust in governments and politics in general in the Western Balkans (WB) is alarming, as 60% of citizens do not trust neither the governments, parliaments nor the judicial systems, according to findings of new edition of the Balkan Barometer, based on the data ...

12 Apr 2019

Budva – Online radicalization in South East Europe (SEE) and ways to deal with this global phenomenon on the regional level are the main topics at the regional Workshop on prevention of online radicalization, being held in Budva today. 

10 Apr 2019

Tirana –The South East European National Security Authorities’ (SEENSA) met in Tirana today, at the meeting co-organized and co-chaired by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the National security agency (NSA) of Albania. 

09 Apr 2019

Ulcinj – “If we want to move forward a new approach to education, promoting skills and supporting creativity is a must, said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) addressing the participants of the 1st Forum “Science and Innovation 2030 for the Western ...

09 Apr 2019

Ulcinj – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) together with the Ministry of Science of Montenegro organised a Regional Workshop on Mapping Research Infrastructure, that took place on 8 April in Ulcinj. The workshop aimed to support the Western Balkan economies in the process of mapping ...

08 Apr 2019

Sarajevo/Belgrade – Today is the day we celebrate Romani culture, history, language, heritage and experiences. But it is also an opportunity to continue voicing the necessity of improving the lives and welfare of Roma as equal citizens of our societies, which is the mission of the Regional ...

05 Apr 2019

Belgrade – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu and Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Traffic and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Belgrade today, extending Serbian hospitality to ...

04 Apr 2019

Belgrade – “A deal is a destination! Today’s signature of the Roaming Free Agreement is a step that makes a difference in the region. Amid all scepticism let us say loudly: Europe delivers”, said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) upon signing ...

01 Apr 2019

Sarajevo – The people of the Western Balkans (WB), businessman/woman, travellers, students, youngsters, everybody, are in unison when it comes to bringing down the roaming charges in the region – they are looking forward to it and see it as a great benefit to them personally and their businesses. ...

26 Mar 2019

Brussels – “Upcoming second WB Digital Summit in Belgrade, as well as the Poznan Summit are our chances to showcase that we can deliver together as a region,” said Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, at the meeting of the Multi-Annual Action Plan ...

22 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu took part in the informal meeting of the Working Party on the Western Balkans Region (COWEB) in Sarajevo today, convened by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), in cooperation ...

21 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Coordination Board of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe’s growth Strategy (SEE 2020) has met in Sarajevo today, to reflect on the implementation results, identify potential action synergies for further cooperation as well as post-2020 regional priorities ...

20 Mar 2019

Tirana – The Western Balkan Six (WB6) Component Contact Points (CCPs) in charge for implementation and monitoring of the Multi-Annual Action Plan for Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) reflected on the results of MAP REA implementation during the period July-December 2018, at their third meeting, ...

15 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu, for the first time since the inception of the duty, chaired the meeting of the organisation’s Board at the RCC Secretariat offices in Sarajevo, yesterday. 

14 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) paid an official visit to Milorad Dodik, Chairman of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency, in Sarajevo today.

Bregu: Spreading the spirit of solidarity and tolerance beyond borders teaches young generations what really matters
13 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu presented the award of the Champion of Regional Cooperation for 2018 to the Founder and Chair of You are a Sunflower Foundation, Albana Osmani at the reception marking the 11th anniversary of the RCC ...

12 Mar 2019

Berlin – Over the last five days, 19 tour operators from the Western Balkans promoted the regional tourism offer at a joint Western Balkans – Powered by RCC.int stand at the world’s leading travel trade show, ITB Berlin, which gathers some 10,000 exhibitors and over 100,000 visitors.

12 Mar 2019

12 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted today representatives of the Western Balkans’ Ministries of Justice gathered around the RCC-led Working Group on Justice, at their regular meeting, 12th in the row.

You are a sunflower - Champion of Regional Cooperation in South East Europe in 2018
12 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has selected You are a sunflower as the Champion of Regional Cooperation in South East Europe in 2018. The award will be officially presented to Ms Albana Osmani, Head of You are a sunflower, by Majlinda Bregu, RCC Secretary General, at the ...

08 Mar 2019

Sarajevo - Instead of happy 8th of March, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is introducing the idea of the “WE”, starting with Nada Markovic, a pioneer of the first female cooperative in Bosnia and Hercegovina. 

07 Mar 2019

Trieste – Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) visited the seat of the Western Balkans Six Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF) in Trieste today, where she met with Safet Gerxhaliu, Secretary General, Marko Čadež, President of the Governing Board of ...

04 Mar 2019

Utrecht – Over the last three days, ten tour operators from the Western Balkans presented the best of regional adventure tourism offer at the Fiets en Wandelbeurs fair at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands, within the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) EU-funded, Tourism Development ...

01 Mar 2019

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) launches photo/video contest titled ‘LOOKING FOR THE SUMMER’ (#looking4summer) aimed at promoting the most desirable tourism destinations in South East Europe. 

28 Feb 2019

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized training for the region’s young diplomats from South East Europe, in Sarajevo today. 

22 Feb 2019

Belgrade – The RCC’s Tourism Development and Promotion Project introduced today the three new Western Balkans cultural routes and presented the development work done by the three tourism grants recipients at the largest international tourism fair in the South East European – IFT Belgrade.

22 Feb 2019

Podgorica – On the second day of her visit to Montenegro, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu met with the Speaker of the Parliament, Ivan Brajović, Prime Minister, Duško Marković,  Minister of Foreign Affairs  Srđan Darmanović,  ...

21 Feb 2019

Podgorica - Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) started her consultations in Podgorica today by meeting Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro.  

19 Feb 2019

Belgrade – The preparations for the upcoming 2nd edition of the Western Balkans' Digital Summit entered its final stage. 

18 Feb 2019

Skopje – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu is in Skopje today, where she met with the EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel. 

08 Feb 2019

Brussels – Representatives of the ICT Ministries and Regulators from Western Balkans Six (WB6) economies agreed on the text and the next steps leading towards signing of the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA2), at the third negotiations organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) ...

05 Feb 2019

Belgrade - Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu met with the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dačić, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Rasim ...

04 Feb 2019

Belgrade – At the beginning of the two-day official visit to Belgrade, the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu met with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, today. 

03 Feb 2019

Tirana – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, was in an official visit to Tirana where she met with the President of Albania, Illir Meta, Minister of Finance and Economy, Anila Denaj, Minister of Education, Sport and Youth, Besa Shahini, Minister ...

01 Feb 2019

30 million EUR are earmarked for the investment projects in digital infrastructure (fixed broadband connectivity) for the Western Balkans, through the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF).

31 Jan 2019

Brussels – The Western Balkan (WB) economies presented current situation and actions undertaken in the development of Open Science and Open Access policies for research data at the meeting of the Working Group on Open Science, held under the auspices of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) ...

31 Jan 2019

Brussels – Sustainable economic growth and development of the Western Balkans (WB) was in the focus of gathering of representatives of EU institutions, diplomatic missions, think tanks, non-governmental and business organizations, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in cooperation ...

29 Jan 2019

Vienna – “European integration of Western Balkans is not a territorial agenda. It is a transformational agenda, which in the broader orientation towards fundamental European values has worked. The EU has been the single most important leverage in the region to promote democracy, rule of ...

24 Jan 2019

Brussels – The second round of negotiations on the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA2) for the Western Balkans (WB), organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), is being held in Brussels today. 

22 Jan 2019

Skopje – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, was in an official visit to Skopje in the past two days where she met with the President of the Assembly, Talat Dzaferi; Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs, ...

21 Jan 2019

 The 2nd round of negotiations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the Western Balkans (WB) for Doctors of Medicine, Dentists, Architects and Civil Engineers started in Skopje today. 

18 Jan 2019

Pristina – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, visited Pristina today and met with the Speaker of the Parliament Kadri Veseli, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Behgjet Pacolli, and Minister of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, ...

18 Jan 2019

Western Balkans’ Public Employment Services and Labour Ministries peers review on-the-job training programmes and practices Tirana – Representatives of Public Employment Services (PES) and Ministries of Labour from the Western Balkans economies gathered in Tirana for a 2-day regional ...

09 Jan 2019

Sarajevo – Majlinda Bregu, the new Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), met with Sefik Dzaferovic, one of the three members of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo today. This is the first meeting organised of envisaged tour of visits that RCC Secretary ...

04 Jan 2019

 Beyond differences and geographical boundaries there lies a common interest!  Jean Monnet was firm in his conviction that the “European nations had to unite in order to survive”. The same holds true for Western Balkan’s. To maintain weight in a world that is changing fast, ...

04 Jan 2019

Sarajevo – Mrs. Majlinda Bregu assumed her duties of the new Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) today, following the appointment by the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Foreign Ministers in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia on 23 April 2018.

21 Dec 2018

Podgorica - The Western Balkan Six (WB6) kicked-off negotiations on an Agreement, which will enable common and shorter procedures for recognition of professional qualifications for Doctors of Medicine, Dentists, Architects and Civil Engineers. The appointed negotiations teams from the WB6 ...

19 Dec 2018

Vienna - 7the meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe 2020 (SEE 2020) Strategy’s Monitoring Committee took place in Vienna today marking the beginning of the new SEE 2020 monitoring cycle. 

13 Dec 2018

Brussels – Representatives of the economies from the Western Balkans (WB) gathered in Brussels today to discuss on the new Regional Roaming Agreement (RRA), at the meeting of the Western Balkans Roaming Policy organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). 

13 Dec 2018

Sarajevo - The 4th meeting of the Joint Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) and Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Working Group on Recognition of Academic Qualifications (WG RAQ) took place in Sarajevo today. 

11 Dec 2018

Podgorica - The third meeting of the Western Balkans Six 6 (WB6) Working Group on Capital/Financial Markets, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), took place in Podgorica today, deliberating on the possibilities of advancing this work towards the overall financial markets ...

10 Dec 2018

Budapest - Regional conference on innovative approaches to employment of Roma, jointly organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s projects Roma Integration 2020 and Employment and Social Affairs Platform (EASP), and Roma Education Fund (REF) started in Budapest today. 

06 Dec 2018

Istanbul – The Third Regional Coordination Conference for Counter-Terrorism (CT) and Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in South East Europe (SEE), organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in cooperation with the Government and the Ministry of Interior of Turkey, ...

06 Dec 2018

VIENNA – The South East Europe Tourism Expert Group (TEG) endorsed a joint plan establishing the regional cultural and adventure tourism routes for the Western Balkans six, at the meeting held in Vienna today. 

05 Dec 2018

Skopje – Governments of the Western Balkans and Turkey agreed to work on a Regional Declaration on Roma and EU enlargement at the Third Task Force meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020) project, held in Skopje. They also agreed to continue and ...

04 Dec 2018

Brussels – For the third year in a row the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) partnered with the Brussels-based think-tank Friends of Europe (FoE), with the support of the European Commission, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United States European ...

27 Nov 2018

Limassol - Western Balkans’ Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) met in Limassol, Cyprus today, within International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Cyber Drill - ALERT (Applied Learning for Emergency Response Teams) for Europe Region that is taking place to from 26-30 November ...

27 Nov 2018

Skopje – A two-day a regional peer review workshop focusing on internship programmes ended in Skopje today. The Workshop was organised by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project. 

22 Nov 2018

Zagreb – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the 3rd Meeting of the South East Europe (SEE) Network of Judicial Training Institutions “Rule of Law at the heart of enlargement process – regional cooperation”, in Zagreb, Croatia on 21-22 November 2018.  

21 Nov 2018

Skopje – Western Balkans ministers in charge of the environment called for further strengthening of synergies and regional cooperation for the implementation of the environment and climate change priorities in the region, in line with the EU acquis, as well as supported mainstreaming of environment, ...

20 Nov 2018

Skopje – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organising the 3rd in row Ministerial Panel on Environment and Climate Action in the Western Balkans, which is to take place in Skopje tomorrow. The event is organized together with the host Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning. 

15 Nov 2018

Belgrade – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the panel: The Future of Regional Capital Markets as a partner of the 17th Conference of the Belgrade Stock Exchange ‘Upgrade in Belgrade 2018’ being held in Belgrade today.  

14 Nov 2018

Podgorica - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion Project prepared and presented the new joint regional umbrella identity concept dubbed “Western Balkans - Crossroads of Civilisations”, at the WB  Tourism Focus Group meeting held today in Podgorica.

14 Nov 2018

Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) concluded a two-day training session for the negotiations teams who will conduct the negotiations on the Agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications of Doctors of Medicine, Dentists, Architects and Civil Engineers ...

09 Nov 2018

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s EU-funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project has awarded the first twelve, out of 30 + grants in total value of EUR 548,000, in Sarajevo today. These grants are awarded to the best project proposals received through the public call ...

08 Nov 2018

Rome – The Working Group for Developing Regional Standards for Roma Responsible Budgeting, comprising of the National Roma Contacts Points (NRCP) representatives of Ministries of Finances from the economies in the enlargement region, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Roma Integration ...

08 Nov 2018

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will award the first twelve grants in total worth of EUR 550,000 for the development and promotion of tourism in the Six Western Balkans economies, at a ceremony in Sarajevo tomorrow. 

07 Nov 2018

Tirana – The South East European Military Intelligence Chiefs (SEEMIC) adopted the Open-source intelligence (OSINT) assessment dedicated to ‘Challenges to critical infrastructure cyber security in South East Europe ' at their 10th Conference held on 7 November 2018 in Tirana, Albania. The ...

06 Nov 2018

Brussels – Representatives of the Western Balkans (WB) economies started the discussions for the adoption of the new Regional Roaming Agreement aimed at reducing the roaming prices for the benefits of all Western Balkan consumers, covering calls, SMS and data traffic for the entire region. 

31 Oct 2018

Belgrade – The regional conference on economic situation of Romani women in the European Union enlargement region, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020) in cooperation with the Government of Serbia and CARE International Balkans, has started ...

30 Oct 2018

Sarajevo – Six Western Balkan (WB6) economies agreed to step up their work on research infrastructure in the region. Specifically the WB6 agreed to develop policies to open access to the existing research infrastructures (RIs) for researchers from the region, to cooperate in development ...

29 Oct 2018

Skopje – Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) supported the visit of the Albanian delegation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance to Skopje today.

25 Oct 2018

Budva - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosts a Regional Workshop on media coverage of violent extremism-related topics for journalists from the Western Balkans, in Budva, Montenegro, today. 

22 Oct 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Tourism Development and Promotion Project took the tour operators from the six Western Balkans economies to the annual Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS), which was held in Montecatini, Italy  last week, to promote their offers and ...

19 Oct 2018

Budva - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is organising a Regional Workshop on media coverage of violent extremism-related topics for journalists from the Western Balkans, on 25 October 2018, in Budva, Montenegro. 

18 Oct 2018

Sarajevo – The Board of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) met for the 35th time at the organisations’ Secretariat in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina today. 

11 Oct 2018

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) began operationalisation of the Regional Investment Reform Agenda (RIRA), with a series of consultations with Western Balkans Six (WB6) economies, on the development of their individual-economy Investment Policy Reform Action Plans (IRAPs), ...

10 Oct 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020) Action Team prepared a set of recommendations intended to resolve the housing situation of Roma in a sustainable way and contribute to the progress of full realisation of the fundamental rights of Roma, ...

09 Oct 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the 3rd meeting of Coordinators of Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAP) on Regional Economic Area (REA) in Western Balkan Six (WB6), discussing the implementation results, next milestones, the most pressing challenges and reiterating commitments, ...

08 Oct 2018

Brussels – The Western Balkans began the negotiations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications of doctors of medicine, dentists, architects and civil engineers at the 1st meeting of Lead Negotiators convened by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in Brussels today. 

05 Oct 2018

Sarajevo/Tesanj/Prnjavor - Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) organised a regional 3-day Workshop on Local Employment Partnerships, which started in Sarajevo and continued with field visits to municipalities of Tesanj and ...

03 Oct 2018

Skopje – The second national platform on Roma Integration, gathering representatives of the government, civil society organizations, the Delegation of the European Union and relevant international organisations, to assess the Roma integration policy achievements made in 2017 and agree on ...

03 Oct 2018

Skopje - A seminar on prevention and countering of violent extremism (P/CVE) in the Western Balkans (WB) gathering security practitioners from the region and distinguished regional and international lecturers is being held in Skopje today. The seminar has been organised by the Regional Cooperation ...

28 Sep 2018

Sarajevo – The third National Platform on Roma Integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Roma Integration 2020 in cooperation with the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held in Sarajevo today. It gathered ...

25 Sep 2018

New York – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted a working breakfast of the Western Balkans Foreign Ministers and the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, in New York today. This informal gathering was organised in the framework ...

21 Sep 2018

Pristina - Under the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020), the third National Platform on Roma Integration in Kosovo*, jointly organized by the RI2020 Action Team and the Office of the Prime Minister was held in Pristina today.

18 Sep 2018

Sarajevo – Close to 50 students from various Universities across Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered in BiH capital today at the one-day Workshop, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) at Faculty for Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies of University of Sarajevo,  ...

11 Sep 2018

23 Aug 2018

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) supported the Western Balkans tour of the No Borders Orchestra (NBO) that ended last night with a concert in Belgrade after earlier performances in Budva, Prizren and Sarajevo.

17 Aug 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is proud to confirm that the young director Hajni Kis with her film „Last call” won the Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Student Film, under RCC's patronage, at the 24th edition Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) that is to close tonight. 

09 Aug 2018

Sarajevo – For the second year in a row, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the international partner of the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), as a patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film. The festival kicks-off tomorrow, 10 August 2018, and includes filmmakers ...

31 Jul 2018

Pristina – In the period April-July 2018, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) through its Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP) helped the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Kosovo* to develop the strategy monitoring tools and increase their capacity to plan ...

17 Jul 2018

Western Balkan Six propose recommendations ahead of the adoption of the EC’s research and innovation Horizon Europe programme Sarajevo - Following the conclusions of the meeting of the Western Balkans Working Group on Research and Development (R&D) that took place in Brussels on 13 ...

15 Jul 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat launched today 1.62-million-euros worth grant scheme that will be utilised to improve infrastructure and quality of services along regional cultural and adventure tourism routes. 

12 Jul 2018

Pristina – Upon request of the representatives of the Albanian Public Employment Service (PES), the Regional Cooperation Council's (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) project, within its technical assistance facility, took the Albanian PES on a study visit to their PES ...

11 Jul 2018

  The Secretary General of the regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Goran Svilanovic, took part at the Western Balkans (WB) Summit on 10 July in London.

06 Jul 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) revealed results of 2018 edition of the Balkan Barometer (BB), an annual survey of citizens and business communities’ opinion on the situation in the region, in Brussels today. The main findings of the survey show that satisfaction of ...

05 Jul 2018

Brussels – Governing Board of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) South East Europe 2020 Strategy (SEE 2020) endorsed the 2018 Annual Report on Strategy’s implementation (ARI), at its fifth meeting held in Brussels today, in the eve of the presentation of the RCC’s Balkan barometer ...

04 Jul 2018

Vienna – Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Goran Svilanovic presented key results of the implementation of Multi-Annual Action Plan on Regional Economic Area (MAP REA) at the ministerial panel dedicated to this topic of the Economy Ministers’ Meeting of the ...

03 Jul 2018

Bucharest – The second meeting of the Working Group for Developing Regional Standards for Roma Responsible Budgeting, organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020), took place in Bucharest today. 

03 Jul 2018

Brussels – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to present the implementation results of the region’s growth strategy, South East Europe 2020 (SEE2020) on 5 July 2018 in Brussels, and day after, on 6 July also in Brussels, the RCC will reveal the results of its 4th edition of the public ...

02 Jul 2018

Sarajevo – Genoveva Ruiz Calavera, Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) visited the offices of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretariat in Sarajevo today, ...

28 Jun 2018

SARAJEVO – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) officially marked the beginning of its 3-year project dedicated to the development and promotion of tourism in the Western Balkans, in Sarajevo today. The project will help six Western Balkans economies to diversify and consolidate their cultural ...

27 Jun 2018

Sarajevo – The South East Europe Tourism Expert Group (TEG) adopted “Crossroads of Civilisations” as a regional tourism identity that will be applied throughout all the routes development efforts in the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion ...

27 Jun 2018

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will launch its project on Tourism Development and Promotion in the Western Balkans on 28 June 2018, in Sarajevo, presenting its team, planned activities and expected results.  

26 Jun 2018

Brussels – Ministers in charge of education from the Western Balkan economies endorsed a set of key principles on automatic recognition of academic qualifications in the region at the 7th Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platforms on Education and Training & Research and Innovation, ...

26 Jun 2018

Belgrade – National Platform on Roma integration in Serbia, providing wide public dialogue with the relevant institutions and civil society and others concerned with the issue of Roma integration, at the same time ensuring transparency of the Roma related policy, participation in decision ...

25 Jun 2018

Sofia – Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans (WB) was launched in Sofia today, at the Digital Assembly 2018, a key annual policy event organised by the European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council ...

20 Jun 2018

Brussels – Regional Cooperation Council' s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Project presented in Brussels today employment and labour market trends and developments in the Western Balkans (WB). The policy discussion gathered representatives of WB Ministries of Labour and ...

19 Jun 2018

Brussels - Representatives of the Western Balkans (WB) Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services (PES) met in Brussels today, within the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform Project (ESAP), to discuss main trends and ...

14 Jun 2018

Brussels – Joint Working Group on Recognition of Academic Qualifications (WG RAQ) has initiated steps towards recognition exercise for the Western Balkans (WB) as well as an online system to support fast-track recognition between Western Balkans economies, at its 3rd meeting held in Brussels ...

13 Jun 2018

Brussels – The meeting of the Western Balkans Working Group on Research and Development (R&D) took place in Brussels on 13 June 2018. The participants focused on the possible participation of the Western Balkans in the Horizon Europe, which is the EC's proposal for a € 100 billion ...

12 Jun 2018

12 Jun 2018

Prague - Coordination and harmonisation of spectrum policies in the Western Balkans (WB) was discussed at the regional meeting organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) that took place in Prague, Chez Republic today.

12 Jun 2018

Banja Luka – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Goran Svilanovic, met the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Crnadak, in Banja Luka today.

11 Jun 2018

Vienna – In an attempt to increase awareness of regional standards in the field of public participation in policy-making processes in the Western Balkans (WB), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) together with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), and the Centre for Public ...

11 Jun 2018

Tirana - The second National Platform Meeting on Roma Integration, aimed at reviewing the status of implementation of National Action Plan for Integration of Roma and Egyptians in Albania for the period from 2016 to 2020, took place in Tirana today. The meeting was organized by the Regional ...

08 Jun 2018

Sofia – Western Balkan’s Public Employment Services (PES) gathered around Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Project were, for the first time ever, invited to participate as observers in a 9th Annual Meeting of the European Union’s  ...

08 Jun 2018

Podgorica - Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) convened meeting of the Western Balkan Judicial Training Institutions (WB JTIs), Councils for Judiciary and Working Group on Justice (WGJ), held on 7-8 June 2018 in Podgorica, Montenegro.

06 Jun 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) published a Study on climate change in the Western Balkans, showing alarming increase of temperature over the whole territory, with observed temperature increase of 1.2ºC in the near future, destined to warm further by 1.7 – 4.0°C and ...

31 May 2018

Herceg Novi – Representatives of the Ministries of Labour and Public Employment Services (PES) offices from the Western Balkan (WB) economies together with relevant regional and international experts in the field, shared experiences and discussed youth employment programmes at the regional peer-review ...

31 May 2018

Bar – A two day conference “Holistic Approach to Housing for Roma in the Enlargement Region”, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020) Action Team, started in Bar today. 

30 May 2018

Podgorica – The third National Platform meeting on Roma Integration in Montenegro for 2018, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Roma Integration 2020 (RI2020) Action Team in close cooperation with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of Montenegro, took place on 30 ...

30 May 2018

Skopje - Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning hosted the 7th meeting of the Regional Working Group on Environment (RWG Env) in Skopje, today.  

30 May 2018

 Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and Albanian Ministry of Justice are hosting a regional workshop on law enforcement/judicial services and state attorneys/prosecutors in dealing with terrorism and violent extremism and connected crimes, in Tirana today. It gathers judges, ...