iconannual 2016 - The European Business and Invetsment Magazine

Central European Initiative
CEI
Immediately after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Italy,
Austria, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia established –
as it is known today – the Central European Initiative
(CEI). Since its inception, the CEI has taken root, grown
and finally blossomed into the largest and oldest regional
intergovernmental forum, committed to supporting European
integration. Currently counting eighteen Member
States 1 , the CEI has become a recognised promoter of EU/
non-EU-country partnership and regional cooperation.
Moreover, its unique geographical position makes the CEI
the only regional international organisation connecting
the Baltic, the Danube, the Adriatic-Ionian, the Black Sea
and the Alpine regions. It is the only organisation providing
a peer-to-peer environment for bridging experience
and synergising the new added values of the macro-regional
approach to the complexity of transnational governance
and programming.
The CEI strategic objectives, outlined in the CEI Plan of
Action, are focusing on supporting its Member States on
their path towards European integration; promoting the
alignment of the CEI Member States to EU standards; implementing
small and medium-sized projects and converting
constructive ideas into innovative results. In order to
offer a solid contribution to European integration the CEI
combines political dialogue (multilateral diplomacy) and
project management. Through its project-oriented working
method, the CEI is also a flexible basis for regional cooperation
of its Western Balkan countries and the three Eastern
Partners (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine). The CEI is
paying special attention to its non-EU Member States' need
for capacity building through know-how transfer and
exchange of experience with its EU countries, thus also
providing sound evidence of the permanent validity of its
A solid
contribution
to European
integration
mission in these difficult times of political turbulence and
economic crisis.
In order to meet the strategic objectives for the benefit of
its Member States, the CEI makes use of a variety of Funds
and Instruments for cooperation:
Our 20-plus-year partnership with the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a real
success-story in this regard, significantly contributing to
strengthening CEI's project-oriented dimension. The CEI
Fund at the EBRD, towards which the Italian Government
has solely made a total contribution of €41.5 million, mainly
provides grant-type assistance for specific components
of Technical Cooperation (TC) projects. Since its inception,
the Fund has provided more than €24 million for funding
144 TC assignments, mobilising €4.8 billion of international
investments in the countries of operations. For one euro
spent on CEI Technical Cooperation, €215 had been invested
by the EBRD and other International Financial Insitutions.
The Fund's main beneficiaries are the non-EU CEI
Member States.
Since 2004, the CEI Fund at the EBRD has also contributed
a total of more than € 2.2 million to the Know-How
Exchange Programme (KEP) supporting 80 projects. As of
2008, the KEP has been also financed by Austria through an
1 CEI Member States and accession date: Albania (1996), Austria (1989), Belarus (1996), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992), Bulgaria (1996), Croatia (1992), Czech Republic (1993), Hungary (1989), Italy (1989),
Macedonia (1993), Moldova (1996), Montenegro (2006), Poland (1991), Romania (1996), Serbia (2000), Slovakia (1993), Slovenia (1992), Ukraine (1996)
20 iconannual The European Business and Investment Magazine