News Archive
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 ...
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: 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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: 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 ...
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: 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: 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 ...
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: 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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
24 Apr 2018
Brdo pri Kranju – The leaders of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) participants commended and congratulated the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), for serving as a sui generis organisation promoting regional cooperation in South East Europe, approving at the same time ...
23 Apr 2018
Brdo pri Kranju - Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) appointed Majlinda Bregu as Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), starting on 1 January 2019 and of Igor Luksic as RCC Secretary General starting on January 2022, ...
23 Apr 2018
Brdo pri Kranju – The 10th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), held in Brdo pri Kranju today, endorsed the RCC Annual Report 2017/2018 and the nominations of Majlinda Bregu as the next RCC Secretary General for the term 2019-2021 and Igor Luksic for the term 2022-2024.
RCC celebrates its 10th Birthday, awards EXIT as Champion of Regional Cooperation for 2017
15 Mar 2018
Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) marked its 10th birthday by presenting a brief overview of the past 10 years of the organisation’s activities to its partners, stakeholders and friends and awarding the EXIT Festival as Champion of Regional Cooperation for ...
20 Sep 2017
New York – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Goran Svilanovic hosted an informal meeting of the Western Balkans foreign ministers, with the participation of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn, organized on ...
26 Jun 2017
RCC Annual Meeting Regional Cooperation Council and Croatian Chairmanship-in-Office 2016-2017 of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) are co-organizing RCC’s tenth Annual Meeting. The meeting is expected to endorse Annual Report of the RCC 2016-2017, featuring the work of ...
12 Jun 2017
Zagreb – Goran Svilanovic, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) together with the host, Tomislav Lendic, Croatian Assistant Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) in charge of Southeast Europe opened the 1st South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Seminar ...
Connection, Communication, Cooperation in South East Europe
22 Sep 2016
Sarajevo/New York - Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretary General Goran Svilanovic attended the informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), organized on the margins of the 71st Session of the United Nations (UN) ...
RCC embarks on new three-year working cycle as the Strategy and Work Programme for 2017-2019 gets endorsed at the organisation’s Annual Meeting
31 May 2016
Pravets – The new three-year Strategy and Work Programme (SWP) of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) was endorsed at the organisation’s ninth Annual meeting in Pravets (Bulgaria) today. The meeting, co-organized with the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office 2015-2016 of the South-East European ...
31 May 2016
Pravets, 31 May 2016 - Meeting in Pravets (Bulgaria) today, the foreign ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) endorsed the Annual Report of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) 2015-2016 presented by the RCC Secretary General Goran Svilanovic, as well as the new ...
SEECP ministers discuss migration issues
02 Feb 2016
“In this year, we will continue to see rising hopes for more progress on the European and Euro-Atlantic integration path of the South East European region”, said the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) at this morning’s informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign ...
RCC and regional issues discussed in New York
01 Oct 2015
New York – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretary General, Goran Svilanovic, attended an informal meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Foreign Ministers yesterday in New York. The meeting was hosted by Daniel Mitov, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign ...
15 Sep 2015
Energy Security and Energy Infrastructure in South East Europe are the focus of a two-day conference that started in Sofia today, organised by the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-office of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and opened by the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov.
19 Jun 2015
The Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of the South East European Cooperation Process (CiO SEECP) has kicked off its activities with the two-day event in Sofia focusing on the state of regional economy and ways to improve it. Taking part in today’s round table which gathered representatives ...
SEECP summit approves appointment of Goran Svilanovic as RCC Secretary General
26 May 2015
Tirana/Sarajevo, 26 May 2015 – Meeting in Tirana today, the participants of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit approved the appointment of Goran Svilanovic for a second three year term as the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Secretary General. The Declaration ...
RCC Annual Meeting and presentation of the SEE Development Scoreboard
22 May 2015
Tirana/Sarajevo - The RCC’s (Regional Cooperation Council) Annual Meeting in Tirana today heard a strong endorsement of the organisation’s efforts in fostering economic recovery and speeding up the European integration process of the region. The meeting’s host, Albanian Foreign Minister ...
Justice and Home Affairs Ministers agree on stepping up cooperation in the joint fight against terrorism
17 Apr 2015
SARAJEVO/BUDVA, 17 April 2015 – Ministers of Interior and Justice from South East Europe (SEE) agreed on the importance of a common approach to prevention, detection and fight against terrorism in the region, at the Ministerial Conference on Justice and Home Affairs that ended in Budva, ...
Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Conference on Terrorism in Budva, 16-17 April 2015
16 Apr 2015
Ministry of Interior of Montenegro, Ministry of Justice of Montenegro, Ministry of Interior of Slovenia and Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), as operational Secretariat of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), are organising a Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Conference ...
11 Dec 2014
The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Goran Svilanovic, met today in Sarajevo with the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Troika (The “Troika” consists of the previous, current and next Chair in office of the SEECP, in this case - Romania, Albania and ...
20 Jun 2014
The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Goran Svilanovic, participated in the formal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP), in Bucharest today. The Ministers approved the Annual Report of the RCC Secretary General ...
RCC to Present its Annual Report and SEE 2020 Scoreboard on 19 June 2014 in Bucharest
06 Jun 2014
SARAJEVO – The 6th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will be held in Bucharest, Romania, on 19 June 2014. It is expected to endorse the report of the RCC Secretary General on Regional Cooperation in South East Europe (SEE) 2013-2014, and to assess the implementation ...
23 Sep 2011
Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Hido Biscevic, took part in an informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII), held in New York ...
15 Jun 2011
The role of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in the context of the Parliamentary Dimension of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was recognized as important by the participants of the 9th Conference of the SEECP Speakers of Parliament, which took place in Becici, Montenegro, ...
15 Dec 2010
A conference of National Councils of the European Movement in South East Europe, which gathered representatives of ten countries from the region, was held in Podgorica today. The event was co-organized by the European Movement of Montenegro and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, ...
29 Jul 2010
The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Hido Biscevic, held today in Sarajevo consultations with Montenegrin Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nebojsa Kaludjerovic, representing the rotating Chairmanship-in-Office of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) ...
07 Jun 2010
The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Hido Biscevic, participated today in the 8th meeting of speakers of parliament of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) participating states, held in Antalya. The event was organized by the Republic of Turkey, which ...