International Organisations

The Adriatic-Ionic Initiative (AII) was first launched at the Ancona Conference on “Development and Security in the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas”, held in Ancona (19-20 May 2000) and attended by the Prime Ministers and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of six coastal countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy and Slovenia).

At the end of the Conference, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs adopted the “Ancona Declaration”, in the presence of the President of the European Commission, affirming the importance of regional cooperation as a tool for fostering the economic and politic stability necessary for European integration.

Serbia and Montenegro joined the original six members in 2002. After the dissolution of that Union in 2006, both kept their membership in the Initiative, whose membership now stands at eight.

Goal of the Initiative

The AII was primarily intended as a means for strengthening regional cooperation among Adriatic coastal countries, fostering common solutions to common problems essentially concerning security and stability, as well as the environmental protection of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

The geopolitical context of the Adriatic-Ionic Initiative is very different ten years down the road. In particular, Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004, and the AII Eastern coastal Countries (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia) are also moving toward EU membership–with varying timeframes and methods – within the framework of the Stabilization and Association Process.

The underlying purposes of the AII have gained in value across time. As a result of growing interdependence among States traceable to the globalisation process a concerted solution to the problems of the Adriatic region calls for increased cooperation as well as regional initiatives. Thus cooperation has assumed new forms, not least of which being partnerships between local actors.

Organisation

The Council of AII member Ministers of Foreign Affairs is a decision-making body whose agenda is prepared at Senior Officials meetings held three times a year.

The Presidency rotates each year according to alphabetical order, and turnover generally takes place between May and June. Italy succeeded Greece on June 1st 2009 and its mandate expires in May 2010, when Montenegro will assume the Presidency.

In June 2008, an AII Permanent Secretariat was opened in the Italian city of Ancona, thanks to the support of Regione Marche. The main purpose of the Permanent Secretariat is to ensure continuity from one Presidency to the next, foster the Initiative’s project-oriented approach and gather member country proposals.

The Adriatic-Ionic Initiative works in partnership with other organisations and regional initiatives operating in South Eastern Europe: the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the Danube Cooperation Process (DCP).

The AII Permanent Secretariat has established cooperation with Adriatic-Ionic forums already working in the region: the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce and the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian cities. Meetings with these organisations are held on a regular basis.

Policy areas

The AII is active in various sectors of regional cooperation, particularly through technical round tables attended by experts coming from each member Country. At the moment, its main sectors of interest are:

1. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The Cooperation Protocol on SMEs was signed in March 2003 under the Italian Presidency. The protocol highlighted the need for close cooperation between industrial clusters that share the same difficulties in being competitive in global and European markets. AII member countries renewed their commitment to cooperating in this context with the signing of a new memorandum for cooperation among SMEs in the Adriatic-Ionian Sea, which was adopted in January 2010 in Verona. The memorandum also enhances cooperation on the development of women’s entrepreneurship.

2. Tourism

In 2005, the Adriatic-Ionic Council adopted a Declaration on tourism cooperation by which a multi-sector approach to sustainable tourism using cooperation aimed at increasing the attractiveness of less renowned sites while, at the same time, lightening the load on more crowded destinations. Feasibility studies have been carried out, such as those for the project entitled “Adriatic-Ionian Seas of Europe”.

3. Cultural and university cooperation

Defending the cultural and environmental heritage of all AII member countries is the main goal of cultural and scientific cooperation, which has also developed a particular interest in the undersea archaeological research.

As far as university cooperation is concerned, the UniAdrion project is one of the Initiative’s main achievements: a virtual network of universities and research centres in the region that encourages the mobility of students, teachers and researchers.

4. Environmental and fire protection

Protecting the Adriatic-Ionic basin against pollution and natural disasters is the main challenge in the region’s development, as stated in the2007 Neum Declaration. Subsequent Presidencies have been encouraging the adoption of an integrated coast-guard system and a sub-regional emergency plan, and ad hoc round tables have existed since 2008 to draft fire prevention action plans.

Italian Presidency (2009-2010)

Italy took charge of the AII Presidency on June 1st 2009 and will remain in place until 31 May 2010 in coincidence with the Initiative’s 10th anniversary. The Italian Presidency has asserted the importance of a project-oriented approach to regional cooperation in the Adriatic-Ionian basin. It has also fostered the drafting of Memorandums of Understanding involving all AII member countries in identifying projects of common interest, in keeping with European Union priorities and regional programmes, and in order to support and accelerate AII member state accession to the EU.

The programme of the Italian Presidency concerns environment, tourism as a tool for sustainable development, culture and university cooperation, SME industrial clusters and transport. Cooperation in those fields is expected to be strengthened also through the involvement of local actors such as regional and municipal administrations and chambers of commerce. These are the key actors in the implementation of a network of relations aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in the Adriatic-Ionic basin, capable of working in accordance to the EU strategies through the promotion of projects funded by Brussels.

Over recent months new protocols of cooperation on tourism and SMEs have been drafted under the Italian Presidency. These memorandums confirm AII country commitments to strengthening cooperation in the Adriatic-Ionic basin using a project-oriented approach, and they also represent the legal basis for the promotion of AII tourism and SME projects.

In occasion of the “Italy and South Eastern Europe Investment Forum” (Verona, 11-12 February 2010) for the internationalization of south eastern European enterprises, a protocol of cooperation on SME development in AII countries was signed in the presence of Sen. Mantica, who highlighted the importance of promoting the Adriatic-Ionic region by adopting the EU’s strategy. Furthermore, the AII Senior Officials met on 27-28 January 2010 and agreed to sign two additional protocols on rural development and cultural cooperation (the latter should be finalised in Montenegro on 23 April during the Conference of the Ministers of Culture of South Eastern Europe).

With the aim of developing and strengthening an integrated network of actors able to work in synergy toward the development of the Adriatic-Ionic basin, one of the Italian Presidency’s priorities has been to enhance AII relations with other regional organisations working in central and south eastern Europe, such as the Central European Initiative (CEI), as well as other organisations and regional actors working outside south eastern Europe but that share the AII’s interest in regional cooperation. In particular, strengthened collaboration has been launched with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) based on common interests in the coastal and maritime environment. In this respect, the CBSS is expected to participate in the next AII Council on 5 May. Prior to that event, a technical AII-CBSS workshop is to be held in Ancona (22-23 April) to identify possible areas for cooperation in sustainable development and civil society dialogue.

The Italian Presidency is committed to fostering the convergence of a variety of actors—local, regional and national—in promoting the social and economic development of the Adriatic/Ionian basin. Various synergies could thus converge for the purpose of defining an Adriatic and Ionic macro-region that might become the common framework for a wider Adriatic-Ionic strategy.

Toward an Adriatic-Ionic macro-regional European strategy

A common interest has emerged among AII member countries during Italy’s Presidency regarding the promotion of the Adriatic-Ionic basin and various forms of territorial cooperation through European integration strategies and the fostering of sustainable development within a common framework.

European cooperation—the goal of EU cohesion policy—has been evolving in various forms and through various initiatives thanks to cross-border NGOs, governments and civil societies, and now requires coordination and systematisation to more fully achieve that goal: the social, economic and political development of the entire Adriatic-Ionic macro-region.

The Adriatic-Ionic Initiative (AII) intends to accelerate its members’ integrated collaboration on the drafting of an Adriatic-Ionian macro-regional strategy to submit to Brussels.

This strategy is linked to recent international developments associated with the creation of macro-regions from the Black Sea to the Danube to the Baltic—this latter having been the subject of a specific EU strategy.

The definition of a macro-regional strategy requires the consensus of all actors involved in the process, as well as the definition of thematic priorities and an accurate assessment of available tools.

In this respect, an Adriatic-Ionian regional strategy should focus on specific issues that represent common priorities for all coastal countries: environmental protection; improved economic prospects in the region; strengthened security; economic, social and institutional cooperation; improvement of the quality of life; enhancement of the common cultural heritage. Such a strategy will bring added value to the EU, national governments and regional and local actors.

In addition to governments, regional and other local administrations are expected to play a crucial role in the Adriatic-Ionic strategy, given their long-standing experience in cross-border cooperation and their deep understanding of both the area’s potential and its weak points.