Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII) |
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Adriatic and Ionian Initiative (AII) was officially launched at the Мinisterial meeting entitled "Conference on Development and Security in the Adriatic and Ionian", Ancona, 19-20 May 2000, where the Ancona Declaration – АII's founding act was adopted.
AII Member States are: R. Albania, BiH, R. Croatia, Hellenic Republic, R. Italy, R. Slovenia, R. Serbia, and Montenegro. Membership is based on the geographic principle – states with an outlet to the Adriatic Sea or the Ionian Sea, and the international law principle, as R. Serbia has joined the Initiative as a successor of Serbia and Montenegro. AII Secretary General is Italian Ambassador Fabio Pigliapoco. AII Permanent Secretariat Headquarters is in Ancona, R. Italy. AII Chair from 1 June 2016 – 1 June 2017 is Greece. AII Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the executive body of the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative, which meets at least three times per year at the level of national coordinators. Internet site: www.aii-ps.org Serbia chaired the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative from 1 June 2011 – 31 May 2012. During its chairmanship, several meetings and roundtables were organized in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, development, transport, maritime transport, culture, tourism, environmental protection and rural development. At the end of its Chairmanship-in-Office, the Adriatic and Ionian Council held a meeting in Belgrade, on 30 April 2012, welcoming the progress made by the Western Balkans countries in the European integration process, and reaffirming the support of all AII countries to the elaboration of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR). The 10th Conference of the Presidents of the Parliaments of the AII member States was held, which discussed the strengthening of parliamentary cooperation, and proposed institutionalization of the AII parliamentary dimension, modeled on CEI. Within the framework of the First EUSAIR Annual Forum, a joint meeting was held, on 12 May 2016, between the AII Ministerial Council and ministers in charge of EUSAIR, during the Croatian AII Chairmanship-in-Office. This meeting was preceded by the meeting of AII Committee of Senior Officials. The meeting adopted the "Dubrovnik Declaration", welcoming, inter alia, the progress achieved by member states in the establishment of EUSAIR governing structures, in cooperation with, and the assistance of, the European Commission. The Declaration underlines the importance and need of taking coordinated action in the AII region, to the effect of identifying and implementing projects aimed at encouraging economic and social development. The Declaration expresses profound concern over the spreading of the current refugee and migrant crisis across the region, which calls for significant humanitarian, financial and institutional capacities of the EUSAIR/AII countries. Regarding the implementation of the EUSAIR Action Plan, the document further urges the Strategy's governing structures to recognize and harmonize the activities that AII candidate, and potential candidate, countries have already been carrying out within the framework of the "Berlin Process" towards the strengthening of transport and energy infrastructure, youth networking, economic development and intensified inclusion of civil society organizations. National Coordinator of R. Serbia for the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative is Pavle Jankovic, Head of the Regional Initiatives Department, Sector for the EU in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Point of Contact: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Regional Initiatives Tel. 011 306 8722 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |