RCC Annual Meeting endorses new Strategy and Annual Report: Regional Cooperation Delivering Concrete Results
16 June 2025
RCC held its Annual Meeting in Tirana on 16 June 2025. 17th Annual Meeting was co-chaired by Amer Kapetanović, RCC Secretary General (in the middle), and Gazmend Barbullushi, Director General at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania as Chair-in-Office of the SEECP (on the left), together with RCC Deputy Secretary General/ Senior Economic Policy Analyst/ SEE 2030 Coordinator Arslan Umut Ergezer (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)
17th RCC Annual Meeting took place on 16 June 2025 in Tirana (Photo: RCC/Armand Habazaj)
Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) held its Annual Meeting today in Tirana, co-chaired by Amer Kapetanović, RCC Secretary General, and Gazmend Barbullushi, Director General at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania as Chair-in-Office of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). The meeting brought together representatives of RCC participants and partners to take stock of the past year’s achievements and set future priorities for regional cooperation in South East Europe.
Participants formally endorsed the Secretary General’s Annual Report for 2024-2025, which reviews the organisation’s key achievements over the past year, as well as the new RCC Strategy and Work Programme (SWP) 2026-2028, setting an ambitious agenda for the years ahead. In addition, participants heard an update on the implementation of the SEE2030 Strategy and discussed the next steps in advancing this long-term framework for sustainable development across the region.
“The region today has a narrow but meaningful window to ensure the Western Balkans become a functional part of the EU Single Market. This requires commitment, speed, and above all, results. Over 80% of citizens in the region support stronger regional cooperation. This is not just a statistic – It is a call to action. It reminds us that our work must remain citizen-centred, focused on concrete gains in trade, mobility, digital transformation, green transition, and human capital development,” said RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanović.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Mr Barbullushi expressed deep gratitude to the RCC Secretary General and the entire Regional Cooperation Council. He said that the RCC has long proven to be one of the region’s most valuable assets, a vital link between great ideas and their concrete implementation to the benefits of region’s citizens. He concluded that stronger regional cooperation means a faster EU integration process, and that Albania remains strongly committed to supporting the RCC and its strategic agendas.
Participants also heard a video message from European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, who underscored the importance of the RCC’s work, saying that regional cooperation has already “brought real benefits to the citizens of this region, not at some distant point in the future, but here and now”. The shortened waiting times at borders and the advances in the Green Agenda are just a few examples Ms Kos emphasized. “There is so much more we can achieve, especially if we get regional cooperation right. It remains one of the best drivers of change,” she concluded.
Participants of the meeting welcomed and praised the RCC’s work over the past year, commending its concrete results in key areas of regional cooperation and its role in strengthening the region’s resilience, connectivity, and alignment with EU standards.
Key highlights of the past year, as presented in the RCC Secretary General’s Annual Report, include the launch of a new Action Plan for the Common Regional Market 2025-2028, deepened financial integration with four economies joining SEPA, further steps on the Green Agenda and climate resilience, progress on human capital mobility and digital innovation, and up to a 99% drop in data roaming costs between the EU and the Western Balkans.
The new RCC Strategy and Work Programme 2026-2028 will build on these successes, with a focus on resilience through transformation and development, strategic alignment with EU priorities, and enhanced cooperation in areas such as connectivity, human security, and sustainable growth. It will also reinforce the implementation of the SEE2030 Strategy, helping the region advance towards more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient development.