The Central European Initiative (CEI) will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding in Budapest (Hungary) this year. During the past period, the CEI did not avoid of the strong criticism referring to the fact that if the CEI does not transfer to the strong grouping of member countries, it will never be acknowledged as an equal partner of the European Union. We are debating about the sense of the existence of the CEI with Ambassador Dr Paul Hartig, General Director of the CEI Executive Secretary Office in the Italian Trieste.

Mr. Hartig, many people in the central and eastern Europe do not know define the Central European Initiative. According to some politicians, it is an informal forum of member countries, which organise their meetings in order to exchange their views regarding political and economy problems in the region. Others say that after the Visegrad Four (V4) grouping founding, it is another useless "grouping", which was established in order to be established. What is the Central European Initiative?

It is an inter-governmental forum of member-countries aimed at cooperation in the region. After 1989, it represents the biggest regional cooperation in Europe covering the whole central and eastern Europe from the Mediterranean Sea to Baltic Sea and Black Sea. However, the initiative is incomplete without participation of Yugoslavia.

During the past years, the CEI has developed relatively strong structures with annual meetings of the prime ministers and foreign affairs ministers of the CEI-member countries. Within the framework of the initiative, there are also operating working groups, executive secretary office of the CEI based in Trieste and Secretary Office for the CEI Projects based in London residence of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The function of the Trieste-based Secretary Office, which has a statute of the international organisation, is to provide help in preparation and organising of the various meetings and conferences focused on the CEI, as well as to provide conceptual and administrative support of the CEI efforts, which watch cooperation in political, economy and cultural fields. Our Secretary Office keeps contacts with other related European and international institutions.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provides the Secretary Office for the CEI projects in London and Trieste. Its basic role is to provide help in transformation of projects of ideas to the projects, which can be acceptable for the bank. Financial sources come from the trust funds of the EBRD, as well as funds of member countries, which are established at bilateral basis.

What direction the Central European Initiative's activities are focused on? What is its political aim in the dense cobweb of multilateral cooperation in Europe as part of the European architecture?

If we are looking at the region of central and eastern Europe trying to understand its prospects into the future at the end of this century, we can identify four big challenges, which the CEI has to respond to.

The first challenge is the EU and NATO enlargement process. The second is enlargement of the big number of regional and sub-regional forms of cooperation on the old continent. Unequal economy and social development with increasing differences between countries and in society is the third challenge. And, the last challenge is outlasting of the serious risk jeopardising stability and security of the region, which stems not only from crisis areas, but mainly from illegal migration, organised crime, trade with guns, drugs, people and terrorism. These challenges have a common aspect. They are the basic factors, which led to formation of the new tensions or dividing lines in Europe.

Could you explain the strategy?

The long-term CEI initiative is focused on three most important fields of cooperation. Mainly, in the field of strengthening of cooperation between member countries. Result of such wide chain of opportunities should be fixed and stable relations in the region, bilateral agreements, cross-border activities, transport networks, trade, investments and cultural exchange. The second field is strengthening of participation of all member countries in the process of the European integration. It requires to CEI work out annex to the strategy of EU enlargement, especially with regard to relations between the EU- and CEI-member countries, which did not apply for the EU membership or which cannot become its members in medium- or long-term period.

This means that the CEI must in a constructive way participate in political and security dialogue and develop networks of cooperation in many fields, such as support in the clear up of necessary European standards and norms. I have to emphasise that the Central European Initiative insists that the conceptions of the European unity and the EU are not in mutual contradiction and that they would merge in all - including strategy. The whole Europe must be incorporates into coherent and detailed conception, including also Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Belarus, the only countries in the region which do not have contracting relations with the EU. The third field is strengthening of transformation process in countries undergoing reform. It is the field, in which there are significant differences conditioning speed and depth of European integration. There is a danger that they should contribute to creation of new barriers and dividing lines in Europe.

The long-term strategy must took into consideration specific historical and cultural conditions, geopolitical environment and need of different approaches in determination of time horizons. It requires not only cooperation with CEI-member countries, but also multilateral and bilateral cooperation with related institutions of the UN, international financial institutions and the third sector. Therefore, the CEI leads the systematic consultancy with the European Union, Council of Europe, as well as Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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