Organization

The Regional Cooperation
Council (RCC) participants comprise 46 countries, organizations and
international financial institutions. The RCC has a Secretariat based in
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, headed by the Secretary General. The present
RCC Secretary General is Goran Svilanovic. Those RCC participants contributing
to the budget of the Secretariat form the RCC Board, currently
comprising 25 participants.

All RCC participants and
participants in the RCC Board are listed below.

The RCC Secretary General is a
strong political figure from the region. Following the endorsement of the RCC
Annual Meeting, the Secretary General is appointed by SEECP Foreign Ministers
and approved by the SEECP Summit. The Secretary General is appointed for 3
years with the possibility to extend his/her term by 3 years.

The Secretariat of the RCC is
directed by the Secretary General and supports the RCC as well as the SEECP in
fulfilling their tasks by working towards the preparation and implementation of
decisions of the RCC Annual Meeting and Board as well as decisions of SEECP
Summits and/or Ministerial meetings. The Secretariat provides analytical,
organizational and technical support to the Secretary General, the RCC Annual
Meeting and Board as well as operational support – if required – in preparing
SEECP Ministerial meetings and Summits. It provides a coordination framework
for regional cooperation activities within SEE and acts as an information and
focal point for such activities.

The Secretariat comprises of Office
of the Secretary General, Political Department, Programme Department, and Administration
Department, located at the headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
and a Liaison Office in Brussels with the main aim to establish and maintain
close relationships with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The
Secretariat employs 38 staff, 36 in Sarajevo, and 2 in Brussels.

Meeting format

The RCC meeting format consists of
the Annual Meeting and meetings of the RCC Board, held three times a year.

The Annual Meeting of the RCC is
held back to back with the SEECP Summit. It is co-chaired by the Secretary
General and the Foreign Minister of the SEECP Chairmanship in Office (CiO).

The Annual Meeting of the RCC meets
at a high political level. It ensures strategic coordination and development of
regional cooperation processes, reviews and endorses the Secretary General’s
Annual Report on regional cooperation in SEE as well as the organization’s
Strategy and Work Programme. The RCC Annual Meeting is open to other countries,
international organizations and partners as guests upon request to and/or the
initiative of the Secretary General following the consent of the participants
in the RCC Board.

The RCC Board provides operational
guidance and supervision of the organization in between the Annual Meetings.
The Board accepts the Annual Report of the Secretary General and adopts the
Strategy and Work Programme, reviews progress in the course of the year and
provides proposals and initiatives with the view of further development of
regional cooperation. The Board consists of those RCC participants contributing
to the budget of the RCC Secretariat as well as the European
Union,  represented by a representative of the High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a representative of the
European Commission.

The RCC Board meets three times
a year and is chaired by the Secretary General. RCC Board meetings are convened
and prepared by the Secretary General in coordination with the SEECP CiO. The
RCC Board meets at the level of RCC National Coordinators, which are senior
civil officials in each RCC participant responsible for coordination of RCC
relevant issues within their respective national administration.

Decisions of the RCC are taken by
consensus.

The working language of RCC meetings
as well as of the Secretariat is English.

RCC participants

Albania

Austria

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Canada

Council of Europe

Council of Europe Development Bank

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

European Investment Bank

European Union (EU), represented by a representative of the High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a representative of
the European Commission

Federal Republic of Germany

Finland

France

Greece

Hungary

International Organization for Migration

Ireland

Italy

Kosovo*

Latvia

Moldova

Montenegro

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Norway

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Poland

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

South East European Co-operative Initiative

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

United Kingdom

United Nations

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

United Nations Development Programme

United States of America

World Bank

RCC Board

Albania

Austria

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

European Union (EU), represented by a representative of the High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a representative of
the European Commission

Federal Republic of Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Kosovo*

Latvia

Moldova

Montenegro

Norway

Romania

Serbia

Slovenia

Sweden

Switzerland

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

United States of America

* This designation is without prejudice to
positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the
Kosovo declaration of independence.