Nikola Poposki, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Macedonia, holding the current CEI Presidency, hosted for his counterparts a Working Lunch in New York on 1 October, on the margins of the UN General Assembly. This has become a traditional CEI gathering in particular with regard to the observer status in the UN General Assembly. EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, also participated in the event.
The Ministers discussed the possibilities of strengthening cooperation between the CEI and the various UN agencies, through the establishment of an annual networking meeting. The Presidency informed the participants on the implementation of the Resolution A/RES/69/8 on cooperation between the UN and the CEI, adopted on 11 November 2014 by the General Assembly. Information on the outcome of the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 (New York, 25-27 September), where a Joint CEI Statement on the support of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” presented by Macedonia was also provided.
The Ministers also touched upon a number of regional matters such as the ongoing migrant crisis. They agreed upon the fact that particular attention ought to be paid to the Western Balkans becoming the primary transit route of mixed irregular migratory flows from the Eastern Mediterranean, thus posing significant challenges for border management and asylum systems in some countries. They stressed the role regional cooperation was to play in that endeavor where the CEI would have an important task to accomplish thanks to its adaptability, comparative advantage and added value, as a result of its distinctive methodology of acting as a platform for political dialogue on one side and in project management on the other.
The Ministers highly appreciated the CEI Executive Secretariat’s launching - in agreement with the Macedonian CEI Presidency - of a-first-of-its-kind Extraordinary Call for Proposals of the CEI Cooperation Fund for activities countering the migrant crisis and related security issues. They stressed that cooperation with other international and regional organisations and the EU in this regard was a must.
The Ministers reiterated their concern about the radicalisation, violent extremism, terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters phenomena as threats to global security and the CEI region. They highlighted that good-neighbourly relations, stability, security and prosperity, the rule of law, free market economy, fundamental rights and freedom of media, as core democratic values at the heart of the EU, and in particular of its enlargement policy, remained essential and needed additional regional actions. Transport, energy and environment protection, research and innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, education, the most essential elements for sustainable development were among the selected areas needing further attention. These areas could be reflected in the new CEI Plan of Action whose elaboration will start in January 2016.
According to the Ministers the CEI’s core mission remained regional cooperation for European integration. By acting as a bridge between the Baltic, the Alps, the Danube, the Adriatic and the Black Sea, the CEI would have a decisive role in the EU macro-regional strategies and the Eastern Partnership. To this end, the CEI was called upon to enhance the involvement of its Eastern dimension through cooperation with the EU and its institutions and with other European regional organisations and initiatives as well as international organisations.
The Ministers discussed the possibilities of strengthening cooperation between the CEI and the various UN agencies, through the establishment of an annual networking meeting. The Presidency informed the participants on the implementation of the Resolution A/RES/69/8 on cooperation between the UN and the CEI, adopted on 11 November 2014 by the General Assembly. Information on the outcome of the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 (New York, 25-27 September), where a Joint CEI Statement on the support of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” presented by Macedonia was also provided.
The Ministers also touched upon a number of regional matters such as the ongoing migrant crisis. They agreed upon the fact that particular attention ought to be paid to the Western Balkans becoming the primary transit route of mixed irregular migratory flows from the Eastern Mediterranean, thus posing significant challenges for border management and asylum systems in some countries. They stressed the role regional cooperation was to play in that endeavor where the CEI would have an important task to accomplish thanks to its adaptability, comparative advantage and added value, as a result of its distinctive methodology of acting as a platform for political dialogue on one side and in project management on the other.
The Ministers highly appreciated the CEI Executive Secretariat’s launching - in agreement with the Macedonian CEI Presidency - of a-first-of-its-kind Extraordinary Call for Proposals of the CEI Cooperation Fund for activities countering the migrant crisis and related security issues. They stressed that cooperation with other international and regional organisations and the EU in this regard was a must.
The Ministers reiterated their concern about the radicalisation, violent extremism, terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters phenomena as threats to global security and the CEI region. They highlighted that good-neighbourly relations, stability, security and prosperity, the rule of law, free market economy, fundamental rights and freedom of media, as core democratic values at the heart of the EU, and in particular of its enlargement policy, remained essential and needed additional regional actions. Transport, energy and environment protection, research and innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, education, the most essential elements for sustainable development were among the selected areas needing further attention. These areas could be reflected in the new CEI Plan of Action whose elaboration will start in January 2016.
According to the Ministers the CEI’s core mission remained regional cooperation for European integration. By acting as a bridge between the Baltic, the Alps, the Danube, the Adriatic and the Black Sea, the CEI would have a decisive role in the EU macro-regional strategies and the Eastern Partnership. To this end, the CEI was called upon to enhance the involvement of its Eastern dimension through cooperation with the EU and its institutions and with other European regional organisations and initiatives as well as international organisations.