The event was attended by foreign ministers and deputy ministers of seventeen countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Hungary, and Italy.

In his address, the deputy chief of Polish diplomacy stressed the importance of regional integration for building a united European Union. He also recalled that in 1991, when Poland joined the Central European Initiative, it was just embarking on its path to join the European community. “Today, as an EU and CEI member, we support our partners from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership on their path towards a better future,” declared Deputy Minister Wawrzyk. In this context, he referred to Poland’s presidency of the Berlin Process and our country’s actions that benefit Eastern Europe, expressing his confidence that cooperation between the Balkan countries and the Eastern Partnership countries is an investment in the stability of a united Europe. “We are determined to support countries that are implementing the necessary reforms and that respect European values. We are prepared to share our experiences from the period preceding our EU accession with them,” added the deputy head of the MFA.

The Central European Initiative is an institutionalised form of cooperation in Central and South-East Europe, established in 1989. Originally it was a Quadragonale, an initiative formed in Budapest on 11 November 1989 by Austria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Italy. Following the accession of Czechoslovakia in 1990, the initiative was called Pentagonale, and after Poland’s accession – the Hexagonale. It has been operating under the present name since 20 March 1992. The CEI-Executive Secretariat is in Trieste.

 

MFA Press Office