Central European Initiative


The Central European Initiative is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 18 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989. The CEI headquarters have been in Trieste, Italy, since 1996.

History

The Central European Initiative or CEI, is the largest and oldest forum of regional cooperation in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. It now counts 17 member states, many of whom are not even part of Central Europe: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
The origin of the Central European Initiative lies in the creation of the Quadragonale in Budapest on 11 November 1989 whose founding members were Italy, Austria, Hungary and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Initiative aimed at overcoming the division in blocks by re-establishing cooperation links, among countries of different political orientations and economic structures.
At the first Summit in Venice in 1990, Czechoslovakia was admitted and the Initiative was renamed Pentagonale. In 1991, with the admission of Poland it became the Hexagonale.
The organisation was renamed Central European Initiative in 1992. On the same occasion, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia were admitted as member states.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia were admitted to the CEI in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. In 1996 Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine joined the CEI as full-fledged members.
The current membership derives from the adhesion of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2000 and of Montenegro in 2006.

Structures

The CEI has a three-pilar system: It cooperates in , parliamentary dimension and business dimension.
It promotes connectivity and diversity through 6 main areas: Good governance, economic growth, media freedom, environmental protection, intercultural cooperation and scientific cooperation/ education & training.
The CEI implements is activities through its cooperative activities, EU-projects, Know-how exchange programme and technical cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and development.

Secretary General

In 2019, Mr. Roberto Antonione has taken up his duties as Secretary General.
CEI Presidencies
YearCountry
1989Hungary
1990Italy
1991SFR Yugoslavia
1992Austria
1993Hungary
1994Italy
1995Poland
1996Austria
1997Bosnia and Herzegovina
1998Croatia
1999Czech Republic
2000Hungary
2001Italy
2002Macedonia
2003Poland
2004Slovenia
2005Slovakia
2006Albania
2007Bulgaria
2008Moldova
2009Romania
2010Montenegro
2011Serbia
2012Ukraine
2013Hungary
2014Austria
2015Macedonia
2016Bosnia and Herzegovina
2017Belarus
2018Croatia
2019Italy

2020
Montenegro

Membership

Founding members:
Joined later:
*