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***Minutes of the Nineteenth Meeting of the SECI Agenda Committee***

*May 25, 2001 at 9 a.m.*

Venue: Joint Institutions Building, Sarajevo

The SECI Coordinator, Dr. Erhard Busek, chaired the Nineteenth Meeting
of the SECI Agenda Committee. SECI Participating States (Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Greece,
Hungary, Slovenia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and
Turkey) attended, together with Montenegro (observer) and the Supporting
States (Austria, Switzerland, and the United States of America). There
was no representative present from the Albania, Republic of Moldova, and
Romania. The UN Economic Commission for Europe, the European Commission,
the World Bank, the Office of the High Representative and the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation were also present, as well as representatives from
SECIPRO and the Business Advisory Council to SECI.

SECI National Coordinator for BiH, Ambassador Nedzad Hadzimusic,
welcomed the Agenda Committee to Sarajevo. He was pleased that BiH could
also host the SECIPRO meeting and the Business Advisory Council, and
wished the Agenda Committee a successful meeting.

**1.** **Adoption of the Conclusions of the Eighteenth Meeting of the
Agenda Committee held on March 23, 2001, in Belgrade**

The Conclusions of the Eighteenth Meeting of the Agenda Committee held
on March 23, 2001, in Belgrade were unanimously adopted.

**2. Adoption of the Agenda**

Item 5.3 of the Agenda was amended to read: "5.3 Transport Initiatives".
Subsequently the Agenda was unanimously adopted. (***Annex 1***)

**3. Report of the SECI Coordinator**

The SECI Coordinator put special emphasis on his recent trip to
Washington, DC where he met with the new Undersecretary of State for
Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, who will ultimately be responsible for
SECI. He also met with officials from US customs, the FBI, the World
Bank, as well as Senator Sarbanes and Senator Voinovich, all of whom
expressed support for SECI's efforts.

He introduced Alex Dupont who is the contact point for the SECI crime
fighting efforts at the SECI Secretariat in Vienna.

The Coordinator also mentioned the 21 May conference of the region's
interior ministers, which was held in Bucharest. The participants in the
conference agreed, *inter alia*, to elaborate or revise comprehensive
legislation on trafficking and to strengthen national law enforcement
and prosecution capabilities through interagency coordination and
national task forces. The full version of the Coordinator's Report can
be found in ***Annex 3.***

4.  **Report of Ms. Danuta Hübner, Executive Secretary of the UN/ECE**

The UN/ECE Executive Secretary stressed that the UN Economic Commission
for Europe has supported SECI since its inception. The ECE's strong
commitment to the region can also be seen by its involvement in other
regional initiatives such as BSEC, CEI and the Stability Pact. She also
invited the BAC and SECIPRO to have their meetings in Geneva, when she
presented the ECE's involvement in activities aimed at public-private
partnership development and informed about the ECE working group on
public-private partnerships under the Investment Compact. The ECE
appreciates the approach of SECI, which serves as a model for the ECE's
work in other regions. The ECE welcomes SECI's decision to hold the last
Agenda Committee meeting of 2001 in Geneva and hopes that this meeting
will provide a good opportunity to discuss regional developments among a
wider audience. Ms. Hübner concluded by expressing appreciation for Dr.
Busek and the entire SECI team, as well as for support from the European
Commission and other institutions.

5.  **Report on the Advancement of Projects**

    1.  **SECI Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime**

The SECI Coordinator reported on the goals, objectives and structure of
the SECI Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime. He mentioned
that SECI is closely cooperating with the Stability Pact Organized Crime
Initiative (SPOC) and the Stability Pact Task Force on Trafficking in
Human Beings. He said that the recent conference of the ministers of
interior from the region, which was held in Bucharest, put the SECI
Center on the map. All SECI countries have now ratified the Agreement on
information sharing. Romania has provided some 2.4 million USD to
finance the actual premises of the Center. He asked those countries that
have not yet fulfilled their obligations to the Center, to do so as soon
as possible. The full report can be found in ***Annex 4***.

The SECI Coordinator asked the National Coordinator for Yugoslavia to
send an official letter to the Center requesting that Yugoslavia join
the Agreement.

The SECI Coordinator raised the issue of establishing a working group to
deal with the question of the UN Model Law on Trafficking of Human
Beings. Romania and Croatia have agreed to take the lead in this effort.
He stressed that the work of this group should begin before summer and,
therefore, the national coordinators need to nominate experts to this
group as soon as possible.

The Representative of BSEC announced that it has established a working
group on combating crime and the SECI Coordinator stressed the
importance of working together on this effort.

2.  **SECI/World Bank Project on Transport and Trade Facilitation in
    Southeast Europe**

The representative from the World Bank gave a report on the progress of
the SECI/TTFSE project. He welcomed the support of the BAC and SECI PRO
in this effort. The World Bank board has approved the first six loans
and TTFSE is now moving to Moldova and Yugoslavia. Customs advisory
teams have been set up in the four of the six countries (Albania and
Bosnia still need to be finalized) and are trying to raise awareness
among public officials on what types of issues transporters face. One of
the main goals of this effort is to develop standard processing time for
crossing borders.

He appreciated the strong support from the UNECE and the trade
community, as well as US government technical assistance and Greek
support for the Regional Steering Committee. He mentioned that the
Austrian government is funding a user survey of TTFSE, which will
measure the evolution and perception of corruption.

**5.3 Transport Initiatives**

The Representative from the ECE reported on SECI activities on
transport. With respect to the SECI Project Group on Transport
Infrastructure, he expressed concern that its progress was slowed down
by the fact that the Stability Pact has not yet responded to the Joint
Statement (May 2000) addressed to it on what role the SECI Group should
play in its transport efforts.

The SECI ad hoc Working Group on the Reduction of Border Stopping Times
of Shuttle Trains formulated proposals on data to be transmitted in
advance of the train arrivals at border stations, on technical equipment
to be sued for the transmission of data between border stations, on the
establishment of Joint Local Commissions (bilateral committees) of
police, customs, and railways at each borer station and on the
organization of a demonstration run of a block train.

The ECE Representative also mentioned border facilitation efforts for
road transport and announced that the next meeting of the Regional Road
Transport Committee (RRTC) will be held in June in Istanbul. He reported
that Croatia has acceded to the Memorandum of Understanding on Road
Transport. The FRY is preparing to accede to it and will attend the
Istanbul meeting as an observer. Progress on other issues such as
weights and measures on E-roads, road charging policies and quota free
regimes can be found on the website of the UNECE. The issue of
facilitating procedures for visas for professional drivers is also under
consideration.

The chairmanship of the RRTC has been passed from Greece to Turkey for
the duration of 2001. The UNECE Representative asked the Agenda
Committee to consider which country might host this committee in 2002.
This should be decided at the next meeting of the Agenda Committee in
Bucharest.

He further mentioned that the ECE is also working with BSEC and the
Black Sea PETrA on transport issues and that synergies need to be
created with other initiatives. The SECI Coordinator felt that it was
very useful that the ECE could serve as a focal point for other
initiative in order to avoid overlap.

The Representative from SECIPRO said that the PRO committees should be
involved in the bilateral and trilateral meeting efforts of the
transport group and the SECI Coordinator stressed that all these border
efforts help promote business in the region.

**5.4 Investment Promotion: Cooperation among Securities Markets in
Southeast Europe**

The Representative from the Istanbul Stock Exchange reported that the
Athens and Istanbul exchanges were able to meet twice since the Belgrade
meeting. Things are moving in a positive direction and the project
decided to create a new working group on settlements and one on
cooperation among membership. On the side of the regulators, a draft
multilateral MoU has so far received positive feedback from
FYRMacedonia, Albania, BiH and Bulgaria.

The SECI Coordinator was pleased that things are finally moving in the
right direction. He encouraged the Belgrade Stock Exchange to join the
project group and hoped that the group could finish its work by the end
of the year.

The Representative of Greece said that the recent visit of the Capital
Markets Board of Turkey and Istanbul Stock Exchange to Athens was
positive step. The issue of signing the bilateral MoU between the
capital markets of Turkey and Athens still need to be resolved.

The Representative from Hungary suggested that Turkey should present a
comprehensive progress report on the project and perhaps Hungary will
reconsider its participation in the project.

**5.5 Regional Network for the Efficient Use of Energy Resources
RENEUER**

The SECI Coordinator reported that, after much consideration and
consultation with the BAC, the project does not really have cross border
cooperation elements but rather operates on a national level. He
suggested that the project coordinator, Mr. Zdravko Genchev, discuss
this further with USAID (Bob Ichord). The SECI Coordinator suggested
postponing a final decision on the project until cross border elements
are filtered out and the Agenda Committee agreed.

Mr. Genchev briefed the Agenda Committee on what had been accomplished
since the last meeting. Efforts are being made to coordinate some other
regional energy projects within RENEUR and new proposals have been
developed, which are result oriented and which incorporate the
suggestions made by the SECI Coordinator and Siemens.

6.  **Commercial Arbitration and Mediation**

The SECI Coordinator announced that the SECI Center for Commercial
Arbitration would open on 11 June at the University of Ljubljana. There
will also be a meeting of experts in Prague on 20-21 June. The SECI
Coordinator thanked BAC members Samo Ivanchich and Günther Mittl, as
well as Miro Senica for all their efforts in making the project a
success. The full report can be found in ***Annex 5***.

7.  **Developments in Other SECI Projects**

The SECI Coordinator reported that the Telecommunications project has
not yet started to work and that Greece, Slovenia and Turkey have to
come to an agreement. The National Coordinator from Slovenia suggested
that the first meeting of experts be held in June. The Agenda Committee
agreed that the project should begin as soon as possible and that there
is no need to continue discussing this issue at further meetings.

The SECI Coordinator then reported that there had been no meeting of the
electricity grids project group since Belgrade and that Bulgaria is
joining UCTPE.

**6. New Project Proposals**

**6.1 *"Facilitating Transport on the River Danube" ****-- presented by
Dr. Erhard Busek, Ms. Jelica Minic (SECI National Coordinator, FRY), and
Mr. Manfred Seitz (Via-Donau)*

The National Coordinator for the FRY stressed the importance of this
project for improving trade and transport on the Danube. Mr. Manfred
Seitz from Via Donau then gave an extensive presentation on the proposal
for an initiative on facilitating transport on the Danube. He stressed
the high cost of losses due to not using the Danube transport
efficiently. RoRo is just one element of Danube navigation and the
project hopes to develop new services and upgrade infrastructure that
will benefit transport policy, economic policy and technology.

Via Donau, together with the National Coordinator for the FRY will take
the lead in this project. The SECI Coordinator asked the Agenda
Committee to identify partners to form a working group. He also said
that the project should involve non-SECI Danube countries such as
Slovakia and Ukraine, as well as the Czech Republic. He asked the
Representative from the European Commission to put this issue on the
agenda for the Danube conference.

The Representative from Bulgaria reported that her country very much
supports this project and the Representative from Croatia proposed that
it should involve experts from all Danube countries and include the
ports of Vukovar and Osijek. Turkey also expressed support of this
project. The National Coordinator of the FRY said that she will prepare
a platform with Via Donau and she agreed that Ukraine, Slovakia and the
Czech Republic would be invited to participate.

**6.2 *" Visa Regime Improvements for the Business Community in
Southeast Europe" ****presented by Mr. Heinz Schatzmann, UN/ECE*

The Representative from the UNECE presented the UNECE Visa Regime Review
Proposal, which had been distributed to the Agenda Committee prior to
the meeting. He explained that SECIPRO feels that this issue is of
utmost importance in the trade facilitation effort. The main objectives
of the project are to monitor visa regimes, make the entire process more
transparent and compile a compendium of best practices for the visa
issuing authorities. He stressed that the project is not meant to
duplicate but rather supplement all other initiatives of this type.

The Representative from the European Commission reminded that visa
regimes are subject to EC law and thus should be dealt with through the
national authorities. He suggested that the SECI Coordinator should
bring up this issue during his upcoming visit to Brussels. The SECI
Coordinator said that the problem is not with EU regulations but rather
with how these regulations are implemented in the consulates. He then
proposed that the project being as soon as possible given the pressure
from the side of the business community. Project work will be conducted
in close consultation with the European Commission.

**7. Report from the 11^th^ SECIPRO meeting on 22 May**

The representative from UNECE summarized the main conclusions from the
11^th^ SECIPRO meeting, which was held on the previous day.

SECIPRO concluded that the SECI secretariat should encourage the
governments of the region to put priority on Trans European Transport
Corridor X. Bilateral and trilateral meetings among PRO committees are
very useful and a mechanism should be developed to give these meetings a
more permanent character. The PRO committees must be directly involved
in the TTFSE effort. A document prepared by the Word Bank, which defines
the relationship between the PRO committees and TTFSE will be modified
and adopted at the next SECIPRO meeting in September. Furthermore,
national PRO committees should make a conscious effort to involve all
trade facilitation actors, as well as meet regularly with the BAC member
and SECI national coordinator from the country in question. SECIPRO also
expressed urgency to proceed with the UNECE visa regime review proposal
(see section 6.2) and, finally, SECIPRO recognized the need for
developing a unified corporate identity by adopting a single logo to be
used on all SECI documentation.

**8. Report from the 17^th^ Business Advisory Council to SECI meeting on
23 May**

The Representative from the SECI BAC reported that the BAC had discussed
the activities of the country committees for the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Romania, and had decided to form committees
for BiH and Yugoslavia. The committees involve members of both the
international and local business communities in the respective country
and focus on promoting trade and investment. The BAC also heard reports
from the Business Support Offices (BSO) in Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Udine
and Vienna and was pleased to hear that the Business Information and
Clearing Center (BICC) has secured the needed funding and will begin
work in September. There will also be a new BSO in Szeged, Hungary.

The BAC agreed to move forward with working with G-17 to produce a SECI
bulletin, which would contain valuable economic data and sectoral
analysis from the region. Two trial issues will be presented at the next
meeting in Bucharest. Finally, the BAC also discussed PR and visibility
and agreed that SECI should adopt a uniform logo in order to create a
corporate identity.

**9. Report from the Stability Pact**

The National Coordinator for BiH said that there is no real overlap
between SECI and the Stability Pact. The Stability Pact is a
coordinating mechanism and not implementing mechanism. He felt that the
needs to be a better division of labor among the various initiatives
working in the region. He also expressed concern that the countries in
the region do not have ownership of the process and that decisions are
being made in a top down manner in Brussels. Generally, there needs to
be more cooperation and more results.

The Representative from the European Commission then gave an overview of
the current status of the Quick Start Projects and the progress made to
date. He also stressed that the Stability Pact is not implementing
agency but rather a coordinating agency. He said that the Stabilization
and Association Process is the Commission's main strategy for the region
and that the CARDS program will support this effort financially. He said
that the Stability Pact needs to identify priority areas and strategies
for these priority areas and hoped that this will be done in time for
the regional conference in October.

The Representative from the United States then reiterated that the
United States strongly supports SECI. She said that the US also feels
that the Stability Pact has to focus on priority areas and reported that
Working Table I has already streamlined its task forces into four
priority areas. Working Table II is also moving in this direction. She
pointed to the MoU on Trade Liberalization as one area where SECI should
be involved. Furthermore, the SECI Telecommunications project should be
included in the infrastructure strategy. SECI also has a major role to
play in Working Table III through the Crime Center in Bucharest. She
mentioned the regional conference, which will be held in Bucharest in
October and cautioned that one needs to be realistic. The SECI
Coordinator agreed that expectations should not be inflated.

The National Coordinator for Slovenia added that the work of those task
forces that were not considered top priority in Working Table I will
continue. Some initiatives are of a cross table nature (good governance
and parliamentary cooperation). She felt that there are many
complementary efforts between the Stability Pact and SECI since she is
national coordinator for both.

The Executive Secretary of the ECE mentioned that the ECE initiated a
working group on public/private partnership in infrastructure
development, which is a part of the Stability Pact investment compact.
This could be of interest to SECI, especially to the BAC.

Mr. Genchev reminded that the energy proposal was originally proposed by
ECE and submitted to the Stability Pact. He asked SECI, the ECE and the
European Commission to lobby this project so it can get support at the
next donor's conference. The SECI Coordinator said that SECI could not
do this and advised him to contact the chairman of Working Table II.

The National Coordinator for BiH asked the Representative from the
European Commission to convey the message that in BiH responsibility for
the Stability Pact falls under the competencies of the Ministry for
European Affairs. He feels that this is imitating structures of the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Representative from the European
reminded that, ideally, The Stability Pact and SECI national
coordinators should be one in the same and if this is not the case, they
need to closely coordinate with each other.

**10. Other Business**

There was no other business.

**11. Date and venue of the 20^h^ SECI Agenda Committee Meeting**

Date and venue of 20^th^ meeting will be 19 September at the SECI Center
in Bucharest. The 21^st^ meeting will be on 10 December in Geneva.

***Annex 1*** - Agenda

***Annex 2*** - List of Participants

***Annex 3*** - Coordinator's Report

***Annex 4*** - Report from the Bucharest Center

***Annex 5*** - Report from Mr. Samo Ivanchich

***Annex 1***

***19^th^ Meeting of the SECI Agenda Committee***

##### Agenda

May 25, 2001, at 9 a.m.

***Venue**: Premises of the Parliament and Ministers Council in
Sarajevo*

1.  Adoption of the Conclusions of the Eighteenth Meeting of the Agenda
    Committee held on

March 23, 2001, in Belgrade

2.  Adoption of the Agenda

3.  Report of the SECI Coordinator

4.  Report of *Ms. Danuta Hübner*, *Executive Secretary of the UN/ECE*

5.  Report on the Advancement of Projects

> 5.1 SECI Regional Center for Combating Transborder Crime
>
> *- Mr. Erhard Busek, SECI Coordinator*
>
> 5.2 SECI/World Bank Project on Transport and Trade Facilitation in
> Southeast Europe
>
> *- Mr. Michel Zarnowiecki, World Bank*
>
> 5.3 Ad Hoc Working Group on the Reduction of Border Delays of Shuttle
> Trains
>
> *- Mr. Zisis Haritos, UNECE Regional Advisor on Transport*
>
> 5.4 Investment Promotion: Cooperation among Securities Markets in
> Southeast Europe
>
> *- Mr. Aril Seren, Istanbul Stock Exchange*
>
> 5.5 Regional Network for the Efficient Use of Energy Resources RENEUER
>
> *- Mr. Zdravko Genchev, Executive Director EnEffect*
>
> 5.6 Commercial Arbitration and Mediation
>
> *- Mr. Erhard Busek, SECI Coordinator*
>
> 5.7 Developments in other SECI projects
>
> *- Mr. Erhard Busek, SECI Coordinator*

6.  New Project Proposals

-   "Facilitating Transport on the River Danube" presented by *Mr.
    Erhard Busek, Ms. Jelica Minic (SECI National Coordinator) and Mr.
    Manfred Seitz (Via-Donau)*

-   "Visa Regime Improvements for the Business Community in Southeast
    Europe" presented by *Mr. Heinrich Schatzmann, UN/ECE*

7.  Report from the 11^th^ SECI PRO meeting on May 22 by *Mr. Heinrich
    Schatzmann, UN/ECE*

8.  Report from the 17^th^ Business Advisory Council to SECI meeting on
    May 23

9.  Report from the Stability Pact

10. Other Business

11. Date and venue of the 20^th^ SECI Agenda Committee Meeting

***Annex 2***

**List of Participants**

At the 19^th^ SECI Agenda Committee, Sarajevo, May 25, 2001

*Coordinator*: Dr. Erhard BUSEK

*Assistants*: Ms. Vera M. BUDWAY, Mr. Alex R. DUPONT

+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *ALBANIA*                      | Not present                         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA*       | Mr. Nedzad HADZIMUSIC               |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA, Directorate for Multilateral   |
|                                | Political Relations                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +387-33/281100; fax:           |
|                                | +387-33/472-188 or 665-744          |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: nedzad.hadzimusic@mvp.gov.ba |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *BULGARIA*                     | Ms. Emilia KRALEVA                  |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA                                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +359-2-2143-2335; fax:         |
|                                | +359-2-720-127                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: se.europe@bg.government.bg   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Zdravko GENCHEV                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | EnEffect Center for Energy          |
|                                | Efficiency                          |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +359-2-963-1714; fax:          |
|                                | +359-2-963-2574                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: zgenchev@eneffect.bg         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *CROATIA*                      | Ms. Dunja JEVAK                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Embassy of Croatia                  |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +387-33-472-433                |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF           | Ms. Jelica MINIC                    |
| YUGOSLAVIA*                    |                                     |
|                                | MFA, *SECI National Coordinator*    |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +381-11-3618078; fax:          |
|                                | +381-11-3618366                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <smipsep@yahoo.com>          |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Dejan RADOJCIC                  |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | University of Belgrade              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Tel: +381-11 3229 281; Fax +381-11  |
|                                | 3370 364                            |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Email: <eradojci@alfa.mps.b>g.al.yu |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *GREECE*                       | Mr. Nikolaos SYMEONIDIS             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Ministry of National Economy        |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +30-1-328-6301; fax:           |
|                                | +30-1-328-6094                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <esecr@dos.gr;>              |
|                                | nsyms@ath.forthnet.gr               |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Yanis TSORBATZOGLOU             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | American College of Thessaloniki    |
|                                | PMU                                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +30-31-398260                  |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <pmu@ac.anatolia.edu.gr>     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *HUNGARY*                      | ######### Mr. Jozsef Nyerki         |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | ######### MFA                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +36-1-4581500; fax:            |
|                                | +36-1-3559178                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <jnyerki@kum.hu>             |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *MOLDOVA*                      | Not present                         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *ROMANIA*                      | Not present                         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *SLOVENIA*                     | Ambassador Jozica Puhar             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA, *SECI and SP National          |
|                                | Coordinator*                        |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +386-1-4782331; fax:           |
|                                | +386-1-4782249                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: jozica.puhar@gov.si          |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Tone KAJZER                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA                                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +386-1-4782185; fax:           |
|                                | +386-1-4782249                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: tone.kajzer@gov.si           |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC  | Mr. Viktor Dimovski                 |
| OF MACEDONIA*                  |                                     |
|                                | MFA, *SECI National Coordinator*    |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +389-02-115153; fax:           |
|                                | +389-02-115790                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <dpgi@gov.mk.com>            |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *TURKEY*                       | Ambassador Mithat BALKAN            |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA, *SECI National Coordinator*    |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +90-312-02871645; fax:         |
|                                | +90-312-2871646                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: mbalkan@mfa.gov.tr           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Ms. Deniz CAKAR                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | MFA                                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +90-312-2871630; fax:          |
|                                | +90-312-2868694                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: dcakar@mfa.gov.tr            |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Aril SEREN                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Istanbul Stock Exchange             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +90-212-2982320; fax:          |
|                                | +90-212-2982348                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <arils@imkb.gov.tr>          |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **SUPPORTING STATES AND        |                                     |
| INSTITUTIONS**                 |                                     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *AUSTRIA*                      | Mr. Manfred SEITZ                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Via-Donau                           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +43-1-5954896-10; fax:         |
|                                | +43-1-5954896-19                    |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <seitz@via-donau.org>        |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *CZECH REPUBLIC*               | Not present                         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *ITALY*                        | Not present                         |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *SWITZERLAND*                  | Mr. Derek MUELLER                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Embassy of Switzerland              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +387-33-233408; fax:           |
|                                | +387-33-271500                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <de7or@bih.net.ba>           |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *UNITED STATES OF AMERICA*     | Ms. Rosemary DICARLO                |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | US Department of State              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +1-202-6470853; fax:           |
|                                | +1-202-6470414                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: DiCarloRA@state.gov          |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Ambassador Warren Clark             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | US Department of State              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +1-202-5371279; fax:           |
|                                | +1-202-3632216                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: warclark@erols.com           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Ms. Bernice POWELL                  |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | US Department of State              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +1-202-6473270; fax:           |
|                                | +1-202-7367422                      |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *UN ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR    | Ms. Danuta HÜBNER                   |
| EUROPE*                        |                                     |
|                                | Executive Secretary                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +41-22-9174221; fax:           |
|                                | +41-22-9170036                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: danuta.huebner@unece.org     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Zisis HARITOS                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Regional Advisor on Transport       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +41-22-9171954; fax:           |
|                                | +41-22-9170039                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: zisis.haritos@unece.org      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Mr. Heinrich SCHATZMANN             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Regional Adviser and ECE            |
|                                | Coordinator for SECI                |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +41-22-9172793; fax:           |
|                                | +41-22-9170037                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <heinz.schatzmann@unece.org> |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *EUROPEAN COMMISSION*          | Mr. Keith SANGWAY                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Directorate-General for External    |
|                                | Relations                           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +32-2-2963372; fax:            |
|                                | +32-2-2958081                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <keith.sangway@cec.eu.int>   |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *WORLD BANK*                   | Mr. Michel ZARNOWIECKI              |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | TTFSE Regional Office               |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | 60, Bigla St., 1407 Sofia, Bulgaria |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel/fax: +359 2 962 6086            |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <Mzarnowiecki@worldbank.org> |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *BSEC*                         | Ambassador Tansug BLEDA             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +90-212-2296330; fax:          |
|                                | +90-212-2296336                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <tbleda@superonline.com.tr>  |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *BUSINESS ADVISORY* *COUNCIL   | Mr. Vassili TAKAS                   |
| TO SECI*                       |                                     |
|                                | Federation of Industries of         |
|                                | Northern Greece                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +30-31-554684; fax:            |
|                                | +30-31-541933                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <seci@sbbe.gr>               |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *SECIPRO*                      | Ms. Tatiana HADJIEMMANUEL           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | HellasPro                           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +30-31-257261; fax:            |
|                                | +30-31-257263                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: hellaspro@ath.forthnet.gr    |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **OBSERVERS**                  |                                     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *MONTENEGRO*                   | Mr. Darko USKOKOVIC                 |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | Prime Minister´s Office             |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +381-81-242177; fax:           |
|                                | +381-81-242329                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: <dado@mn.yu>                 |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| *OFFICE OF THE HIGH            | Mr. Michael H. HRYSHCHYSHYN         |
| REPRESENTATIVE*                |                                     |
|                                | Senior Advisor to the Principal     |
|                                | Deputy HR                           |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | tel: +387-33-283526; fax:           |
|                                | 387-33-283850                       |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | email: michael.hryshchyshyn@ohr.int |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

***Annex 3***

***Coordinator´s Report***

***March 24, 2001 - May 25, 2001***

**March 28, 2001 - Paris**

-   Meetings with Mr. Xavier de Villepin, President of the Foreign
    Policy Commission of the French Senate and Ambassador Jean-Marc
    Rochereau de la Sabliere, Foreign Policy Counselor of President
    Jacques Chirac

**March 29, 2001 - Paris**

-   Speech on \"Europe, Austria and the EU Enlargement\" organized by
    the French \"Institute for International Relations\"

-   Meeting with Czech State Secretary Pavel Telicka

**March 30, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Speech on \"The political and economic dimension of EU-Enlargement\"
    at the 1st International OCES Meeting

**April 1, 2001 - Alpbach**

-   Meetings with Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Benita
    Ferrero-Waldner and EU Commissioner Franz Fischler

-   Conference on \"Poland - Austria. Partners in Europe\"

**April 3, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meeting with former Romanian Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrei
    Plesu

**April 5, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Speech on \"Austria´s Role in a larger EU\"

**April 6, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Speech on \"Europe - a common future\" at the Seminar \"Working for
    a united Europe\" in the framework of the 3rd YEPP Congresses

**April 9, 2001 - Bucharest**

-   Meetings with Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, Secretary of State for
    European Integration Petre Lificiu, Director General Vasile Galgau,
    Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Mr. Adrian Severin

**April 9-10, 2001 - Bucharest**

-   9th Meeting of the JCC

**April 19, 2001- Graz**

-   Conference on \"Slovenia - 10 Years independence\" at the
    Karl-Franzens-University

**April 20, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meeting with Bulgarian Ambassador Kiril Kalev

**April 23, 2001 - Budapest**

-   Speech at the \"Danube Crisis Management Seminar\"

**April 24, 2001- Vienna**

-   Speech on \"Romania on its way to the EU\"

**April 25, 2001- Vienna**

-   Meeting with Deputy President of the Serbian Parliament Ms. Gordana
    Comic, President of the Executive Council of Vojvodina Mr. Dorde
    Dukic, Mayor of Novi Sad Borislav Novakovic

**April 26, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meeting with Turkish Ambassador Ömer Akbel

**April 26, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meeting with Serbian Minister for Transport Ms. Maria Vukosavljevic

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-   Speech on \"The significance of the EU Enlargement\"

**April 27, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Speech on \"Danube Region: Opportunities for economic development
    considering European enlargement and Balkan stability pact\" at the
    Symposium \"Danube Region - European business region\"

**April 29, 2001 - Washington**

-   Meeting with Austrian Ambassador Peter Moser

**April 30, 2001 - Washington**

-   Meetings with Ambassador Larry Napper (Coordinator of the Office of
    East European Assistance) and Rosemary DiCarlo (Special Coordinator,
    Office of Stability Pact Implementation), Mr. Graham Smith (Director
    of TTFSE Project), Mr. Gregory Schulte (Senior Director for
    Southeast European Affairs, National Security Council), FBI Deputy
    Assistant director of International Operations Branch Mr. Leslie
    Kaciban, Jr.

**May 1, 2001 - Washington**

-   Meetings with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Wendy Chamberlin
    (Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
    (INL), Senator Paul Sarbanes, Ms. Paula Dobriansky (Director of the
    Washington Office of the Council on Foreign Relations), Hungarian
    Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Chargé d\'affaires of the Embassy of
    Romania Mr. Bogdan Mazuru

**May 2, 2001 - Washington**

-   Lecture on \"The open agenda of common interest - Creating stability
    through SECI\"

-   Meetings with Director of the American Enterprise Institute Jeffry
    Gedmin, U.S. Customs Assistant Commissioner Mr. Douglas Browning,
    Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Mr. James F.
    Dobbins

**May 7, 2001 - Munich**

-   Speech at the "Business Dialogue\" organized by ProEuropa and
    Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft

**May 8, 2001 - Dresden**

-   Speech on \"Economic and Social Policy of the European Union and
    Options for an Association of Central, Eastern and Southeast
    European Countries\" organized by EIPOS

**May 9, 2001 - Dresden**

-   Speech on \"The Czech Republic from European Perspective in the
    course of Time\" organized by EIPOS

**Vienna**

-   Meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus

**May 10, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Symposium \"Globalization Markets and Law\" Chamber of Commerce
    Vienna

-   Speech on the \"Political Development in Central and Eastern Europe
    under the Aspect of EU Accession\" at the Eastern European Finland
    Trade Centre

**May 12, 2001 - Bratislava**

-   Roundtable of NGOs with Prime Ministers on \"Civil Society,
    Democracy and Security: Forging New Domestic and International
    Partnerships\" in the framework of the conference \"Europe\'s New
    Democracies: Leadership and Responsibility\"

**May 13, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meeting with Yugoslav Ambassador Mihajlo Kovac

**May 14, 2001 - Vienna**

-   Meetings with Austrian Ambassador to the OSCE Ms. Jutta
    Stefan-Bastl, Mr. John Markey, Mr. Fred Sanchez (US Immigration and
    Naturalization Service (INS), Mr. Manfred Seitz (Donau Transport
    Entwicklungsgesellschaft - Via Donau)

**May 15-18, 2001 - Prague**

-   9th Meeting of the OSCE Economic Forum (attended by Ms. Budway)

**May 21-23, 2001 - Tirana**

-   Meeting of Working Table II of the Stability Pact for Southeastern
    Europe (attended by Ms. Stankov)

**May 21, 2001 - Bucharest**

-   Regional Consultative Conference on \"Fighting Trafficking in Human
    Beings and Illegal Immigration in Central and South East Europe\"
    organized by the Romanian Government

**May 23, 2001 - Sarajevo**

-   11th SECI PRO Meeting and SECI BSOs Coordination Meeting

**May 24, 2001 - Sarajevo**

-   17th Meeting of the BAC to SECI

**May 25, 2001 - Sarajevo**

19th Meeting of the SECI Agenda Committee

***Annex 4***

Status Report of the

**SECI REGIONAL CENTER FOR COMBATING TRANSBORDER CRIME**

**Presented to the 19th Meeting of the Agenda Committee**

**Sarajevo, May 25 2001**

*(I). The stage of the SECI Center project:*

*A. Ratification Stage of the SECI Agreement:*

Up to the present **all the countries have** **ratified the SECI
Agreement.** Croatia is in the stage of transmitting the ratification
instruments to the Government of Romania, which is the depository of the
SECI Agreement.

##### B. Ratification law of the Headquarters Agreement between Romania and the SECI Center

The Headquarters Agreement between Romania and the SECI Center has been
ratified by the Law No.48 from March 12, 2001 and published in the
Official Monitor No. 131 from March 15, 2001. The Romanian Government
notified the ratification of the Head Quarters Agreement on April 3,
2001 to the SECI Center and according to Article 28, it **entered into
force on April 4, 2001**.

##### C. Financial contribution

-   The **financial contribution** has been sent by Albania, Bulgaria,
    Croatia and Hungary.

-   The United States Government supported the first months of
    functioning with 100.000 USD

-   The Romanian Government has supported the utilities expenses till
    May 1, 2001 (22.000 USD).

##### D. Liaison Officers

The following states have already appointed their **liaison officers to
the SECI Center:**

-   ROMANIA: Lt. Col. Ion Gabriel Sotirescu -- Police; Mr. Aurel
    Stancu - Customs

-   HUNGARY: Gen. Ferenc Banfi is also liaison officer of the Hungarian
    Police

-   TURKEY: Ridvan Gunaydin -- Police; Mehmet Yildirim -- Customs

-   F.Y.R. OF MACEDONIA: Zan Jovanovski -- Police; Emil Milev -- Customs

The liaison officers from Albanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian Customs
Administrations are also expected the next weeks.

##### E. National Focal Points

-   Romania has already established its NFP as a Department within the
    Ministry of Interior (Director Mihai Negrea): 19 from police and 7
    from customs. All the requests from and to the SECI Center are
    addressed through the NFP. Two major cases (in cooperation with
    Moldavian and Italian and respectively with Turkish polices) have
    been solved with full support from the part of the NFP' officers.

-   A questionnaire has been sent to the Joint Cooperation Committee to
    be filled in and sent to the SECI Center, in order to be officially
    informed about the stage of the establishment of the National Focal
    Points within the SECI states.

##### F. IT Equipment

-   The Romanian Government has already purchased computers and a server
    about 400.000 in addition to other 200.000 USD addressed to the
    communication equipment

-   Complementary IT equipment is expected as a grant of 400.000 USD
    from the US Government

*(II) The operational activities and training*

Based on the reports of the liaison officers, for the period January 8
-- April 30, the exchange of information through the SECI Center has had
the following structure:

January 7 requests

February 16 requests

###### March 49 requests

######## April 36 

Total 108 requests

Taking into consideration the different fields concerned:

Trafficking of Human Beings 20

Trafficking of drugs 7

Commercial Fraud 9

Stolen cars 18

Wanted persons 14 (arrested 4)

Homicide 10

Fraudulent documents 10

Robbery 2

Terrorism 1

###### Others 5

####### Total 108

Ongoing cases:

1.  case on drugs - coordinator FYR of Macedonia

> 1 tactical exercise -- smuggled cigarettes -- coordinator Croatia
>
> 1 case on illegal women trafficking -- coordinator Romania
>
> 1 case on illegal women trafficking including teenagers under fourteen
> with target Italy -- coordinator Romania
>
> Interviews and mission on field in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
> have taken place, realized in cooperation by the Romanian, Macedonian,
> B&H, FBI police officers.
>
> Closed cases:
>
> In three cases Romanian - Turkish police cooperation from which 1 case
> an extradition of a wanted Romanian criminal and 2 Turkish criminals.
>
> In one case 30 criminals have been arrested as follow-up of the arrest
> in Romania. Drugs, weapons, dollars and gold have been seized both in
> Romania and Turkey.\
> In one case Moldavian-Romanian-Italian cooperation finalized with the
> arrest of a "Camorra" dangerous criminal.
>
> ***Annex 5***

**Report of the SECI Project Group on Commercial Arbitration and
Mediation**

**at the 19th SECI Agenda Committee Meeting**

The *SECI Arbitration and Mediation Training and Promotion Centre* was
being established as a not-for-profit, private legal entity. The Centre
was being established for the purposes of promotion and training only,
there would be no hearings or arbitration procedures held there. It was
agreed that the seminars offered should be of a high quality with not
too many participants. It was left still to be defined whether there
would be specialized separate classes for judges and lawyers or whether
they would be held together.

*Networking*

People who actively deal with arbitration in the region and supporting
countries should be involved. Current networking is not entirely
satisfactory because it is primarily bilateral. Therefore a proposal was
made to hold an annual meeting where arbitration organizations could
share their practical experience in specific areas, improved
communication links could be established and a regional cooperation
agreement developed. For discussion purposes these were referred to as
"regional network meetings". While a formal organization/association had
been proposed, due to the existence already of the world wide
International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutes (IFCAI)
and of the SECI Arbitration Working Group, it was agreed to keep this
within the framework of SECI, at least for the time being.

*Seminars and Publications*

The concept of organizing seminars is to promote the use of arbitration
among business and legal practitioners in the region. It was agreed to
hold a seminar in Dubrovnik or Opatija and to try to combine it with the
autumn meeting of the SECI arbitration group. For the seminar it was
agreed that a desirable number of attendees from the region for such
promotional seminars would be 40. In order to publicize the seminars it
was agreed that each participant would assist within their country. It
was also agreed to compile a list of potentially interested
international law firms.

The proposal concerning publications was to expand the coverage of the
current "Review of Arbitration in Central and Eastern Europe" to cover
all SECI countries. This was first published as a supplement to the
Croatian Arbitration Yearbook in conjunction with the Dutch Asser
Instituut and the Central European University in Budapest. It was agreed
to work on the elimination or reduction of any overlapping with the
proposed publication, although he personally considered the two
publications to be mutually compatible and complementary.

*Website*

It was suggested that the establishment of an Internet site for the SECI
arbitration working group would be an excellent method for promoting
arbitration in the region. The UN/ECE would be ready to host the site
(i.e. to place the groups Internet pages on its server) provided that
the site followed UN/ECE Internet guidelines, however, they had no
resources available for preparing and maintaining such pages. It was
indicated that the Centre in Ljubljana would be able create and maintain
the pages on such a site, the Group agreed to go ahead with this project
once the Centre was established and functioning.

*Recognition and Enforcement Issues*

The widest possible range of information/reports on recognition and
enforcement in SECI and SECI supporting countries should be maintained.
It was proposed to request the submission of all reports in a uniform
way in order to make it is easier to compare them. A deadline of end of
September for the submission of new and revised reports was suggested.
These reports should be made available on the Internet as well as on
paper and it would be useful to have enforcement decisions in SECI
countries published in the International Court of Arbitration (ICA)
yearbook in order to put them on the map. It was agreed that the Group
should be looking more closely at the dichotomy between the law in the
books as recorded in the national reports and the law in practice as
recorded by empirical research. For example, it is important to know in
which countries interpretation of legislation is more liberal and in
which countries interpretation is formalistic. However, since very
little empirical research exists on the law in practice, information
would need to be collected from the national court systems.

With regard to eventually changing judicial attitudes and practices, it
was indicated that UNCITRAL was willing to work with the UN/ECE to set
up judicial colloquia to allow the sharing of information and experience
between judges from arbitration friendly countries and SECI countries.
UN/ECE has been able with extra-budgetary funding (primarily from the
private sector) to provide effective technical assistance on a country
by country basis for certain technical subjects, such as the enforcement
of intellectual property rights. This process might eventually serve as
the basis for similar educational/assistance activities under the SECI
working group: Model Technical Assistance Country Consultative Process.
Extra-budgetary funds for these projects generally come from private
companies who sponsor them because it is in their own interest to have
an objective evaluation of the exact situation in the country (as
provided by the consultants' study) and to improve the identified
conditions.

*Identification and Recommendations for Best Practices in Case
Management*

The work plan was divided into two sections, the first on assessment of
rules of procedure in order to develop a basic model for harmonization
and the second section on case management practices and the creation of
a set of best practices in this area. The Group felt that the majority
of countries now had good arbitration legislation, and was not in favour
of looking at the rules of procedure as many of the real issues are
related to practice or other issues (language requirements, taxation of
arbitrators, payment for arbitrators, selection of arbitrators,
authentication of awards, etc).

*Training*

Having been inspired by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce)
seminars, it was suggested that an annual seminar should be held in
Istanbul and provided a detailed programme. This programme was then for
implementation by the SECI Arbitration and Mediation Training and
Promotion Centre. "Training" in the context of the Centre and the SECI
working group was meant to primarily address those who already knew
about and had experience in arbitration (for example, lawyers,
arbitrators and judges). The Turkish Chamber of Commerce was ready to
finance a seminar in Istanbul.