The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched on Bulgaria's initiative in 1996. At the Bulgaria-chaired meeting in Sofia, the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries laid the foundations for regional co-operation for the purposes of creating an atmosphere of trust, good neighbourly relations and stability.

A special characteristic of SEECP is that it is an original form of co-operation among the countries in the region launched on their own initiative, and not on the initiative of some other international organisation or countries. In that regard, the SEECP seeks to define itself as an authentic voice of SEE, complementary to the Stability Pact, Southeast European Cooperative Initiative or the Stabilisation and Association Process.

The basic goals of regional co-operation within SEECP include the strengthening of security and the political situation, intensification of economic relations and co-operation in the areas of human resources, democracy, justice, and battle against illegal activities. It is the intention of the SEECP to enable its members to approach the European and Euro-Atlantic structures through the strengthening of good neighbourly relations and transformation of the region into an area of peace and stability.

Membership

Founding members:

(joined as Serbia and Montenegro)

Joined later: (2005) (2006) (2007) (2010) (2014)

Structure The SEECP is a regional non-institutionalised process co-ordinated by the presiding country. The SEECP presidency lasts for one year and is rotated among the members. The presiding country presents the Process at international meetings and hosts the annual meeting of heads of state and government, foreign ministers meeting and a number of annual meetings of political directors. Depending on the situation, the presiding country may call extraordinary meetings. Representatives of the current, past, and future SEECP Chair-in-Office form a Troika to ensure the continuity of activities.

Regional Cooperation Council

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) was established at a 2008 meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the SEECP. The RCC consists of 46 participants made up of the SEECP countries, along with other countries and supranational organizations who are interested in the stability and development of the region.

Parliamentary Assembly The SEECP Parliamentary Assembly was established in 2014 to bring together representatives from the legislatures of member states. It meets in plenary session once a year, chaired by the speaker of the legislature of the country holding the SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office. The work of the assembly is supported by the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation in South East Europe, based in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Chairmanship Presiding country is changed each year on 1 July: 1996–97, Bulgaria 1997–98, Greece 1998–99, Turkey 1999–2000, Romania 2000–01, North Macedonia 2001–02, Albania 2002–03, Serbia and Montenegro 2003–04, Bosnia and Herzegovina April 2004 – May 2005, Romania May 2005 – May 2006, Greece May 2006 – May 2007, Croatia May 2007 – May 2008, Bulgaria 2008–09, Moldova 2009–10, Turkey 2010–11, Montenegro 2011–12, Serbia 2012–13, North Macedonia 2013–14, Romania 2014–15, Albania 2015–16, Bulgaria 2016–17, Croatia 2017–18, Slovenia 2018–19, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2019–20, Kosovo 2020–21, Turkey 2021–22, Greece 2022–23, Montenegro 2023–24, North Macedonia 2024–25, Albania 2025–26, Bulgaria

Meetings held Heads of state and government meetings 2–4 November 1997, Crete 12–13 October 1998, Antalya 12 February 2000, Bucharest 25 October 2000, Skopje (extraordinary meeting) 23 February 2001, Skopje 28 March 2002, Tirana 9 April 2003, Belgrade 21 April 2004, Sarajevo 11 May 2005, Bucharest 4 May 2006, Thessaloniki 11 May 2007, Zagreb 21 May 2008, Pomorie 5 June 2009, Chișinău 21–23 June 2010, Istanbul 1 June 2013, Ohrid (cancelled) 25 June 2014, Bucharest 26 May 2015, Tirana 1 June 2016, Sofia 30 June 2017, Dubrovnik 24 April 2018, Kranj 8–9 July 2019, Sarajevo (Refused by Kosovo) 2020, Pristina (Cancelled due to COVID-19) 17–18 June 2021, Antalya 10–11 June 2022, Athens 27 June 2023, Podgorica 13 June 2024, Skopje 16 June 2025, Tirana 10 June 2026, Sofia

Foreign ministers meetings 6–7 July 1996, Sofia 5–6 June 1997, Thessaloniki 8–9 June 1998, Istanbul 19 March 1999, Bucharest 2 December 1999, Bucharest 14 July 2000, Ohrid 16 May 2001, Tirana 19 June 2002, Belgrade 9 June 2003, Sarajevo 22 October 2004, Bucharest 24 January 2006, Athens 1 March 2007, Zagreb 14 June 2012, Belgrade 22 May 2015, Tirana 23 April 2018, Kranj 5 September 2018, Banja Luka 25 June 2020, Pristina (Online due to COVID-19) 6 November 2020, Antalya 5 June 2023, Budva 13 June 2024, Skopje

See also Southeast Europe Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Central European Initiative

References

External links

South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation in South East Europe Regional Cooperation Council