INSTITUTE OF SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN STUDIES (ISEES) – TIRANA
BACKGROUND
Albania has been paying special attention to strengthening the regional multilateral relations; an activity that has been materialized through the establishment of various initiatives and regional organizations.
The involvement in such initiatives has served the promotional purpose of the good-neighborly relations, regional security and stability, and assurance of political support in financing projects of high priority subject matters in regards to the national and regional development.
The objective has always been to promote the coexistence and good-neighborly in the region through the moderate and active role of our country’s foreign policy.
Albania’s role in the regional multilateral relations has been frequently evaluated by the European Commission Reports over the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Albania. Therefore, it has been reported that “Albania is an active member of all the initiatives currently operating in the Balkans”, and it has also been noticed that “it has held constructive stands in the regional cooperation and international relations, as such, playing an ever-growing role in encouraging the stabilization of inter-religious relations, political dialogue, as well as commercial and economic cooperation”.
Regional cooperation is mainly concentrated on:
• Fighting against organized crime and trafficking;
• Free movement of people;
• Creation of free trade zones in the region;
• Regional energy market;
• Regional transport strategies with Corridor VIII as a priority;
• Strengthening the cross border cooperation by promoting Euro-regions.
Albania is an active member in all the initiatives that operate in Southeast Europe, to name a few:
• Central European Initiative (CEI)
• Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
• Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII)
• South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP)
• Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)
The South East European Cooperation Process remains the central political forum in Southeast Europe, aiming cooperation, peace, security, stability, economic, political and social development of all our regional countries.
Considering the regional cooperation and integration as a precondition to our integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, SEECP is a unique process initiated by the countries of the region themselves, being a unified voice in addressing common problems towards our development and integration into the European family.
Upon completion of almost 9 years of activity, the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe closed down passing its legacy to the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). This new development is an expression of the growing role of the regional ownership in Southeastern European countries.
The matters of Southeast European Studies are on the day-to-day agenda of a number of countries in our region. In this context, given that Albania is in the process of democratization of the society and simultaneously in that of European integration, it should as well be an active part of these policies and activities in order to achieve the European development standards.