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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000373 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2017 
TAGS: PREL ECON EAID SR HR EUN MI RO BU GR BK MW
YI, TU, UNMIK 
SUBJECT: CREATING THE REGIONAL COOPERATION COUNCIL: FIRST 
STEPS 
 
REF: BRUSSELS 00194 
 
Classified By: POLMINCOUNS LAURENCE WOHLERS FOR REASONS 1.5(B) AND (E) 
 
Summary 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Representatives of key donor governments and of 
SEECP countries met in Brussels on January 23 and 24 to begin 
the process of establishing a Regional Cooperation Council 
and secretariat as a regional cooperation vehicle to replace 
the Stability Pact by early 2008.  Discussions were 
productive -- donor commitments approached those already made 
by the SEECP and the EU -- and the complex task of 
establishing the RCC mandate and structure was launched. 
Strong statements of support for the process and the 
objective were universal; key issues to be resolved by the 
March 2 meeting of SEECP Foreign Ministers include a precise 
definition of the relationship between the RCC and the SEECP, 
agreement on a location for the RCC, and selection of a 
Secretary General (SYG) to head it. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶2.  (C) Of the two candidates for the seat of the RCC, 
Sarajevo and Belgrade, the former appears to be the 
front-runner, despite the logistical challenges it would 
offer.  As for the SYG, there is a split on whether a 
political figure or a senior diplomat should fill the 
position.  Former Serbian foreign minister (and Stability 
Pact Working Table I Chair) Goran Svilanovic is lobbying 
openly for the position and is widely seen as the best 
qualified person for it, but Croatia appears unreceptive to 
his candidacy.  In addition, Belgrade (where talks on forming 
a new government are underway following January 21 elections) 
has not yet officially put Svilanovic's name forward. End 
Summary. 
 
Donor Meeting: Overall target within Reach 
 
¶3.  (U)  Citing firm commitments by Austria, Switzerland, and 
Germany, and notional commitments by the U.S. and Norway, 
Stability Pact Special Coordinator Erhard Busek pressed other 
attendees to come forth with concrete offers of funding 
support for the operating expenses of the RCC, which may 
reach as much as three million euros a year.  Dr. Busek 
called on donors to match the one million euros annually over 
three years already committed by both SEECP governments and 
the European Commission. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Donor governments stressed the need for a firm 
presentation on the structure of the RCC and the proposed 
staffing of the RCC secretariat before commitments could be 
made final.   Funding commitments presented included: Austria 
- 150,000 euros; Germany - up to 200,000 euros; Switzerland - 
120,000 euros; US - up to USD 200,000; Sweden - considering 
150,000 euros; and Finland - considering 50,000 euros.  In 
addition, Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, Slovakia, and the Czech 
Republic are considering minimal participation.  For their 
part, the U.K. and France, given that that their legislation 
limits funding to program activities only, argued that their 
overall assistance to the region should justify their 
participation in the RCC. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The Regional Cooperation Council, intended to be the 
coordinating body supporting regional cooperation under SEECP 
leadership, is likely to have an inner circle comprised of 
SEECP governments and key donors, possibly those offering 
funding above a threshold of 50,000 euros and possibly to 
include others (U.K. in the first instance) with substantial 
assistance programs in the region.  As presently envisioned, 
this executive circle of the RCC would likely meet quarterly 
and the overall council once annually. 
 
Institutional Working Group: Founding the RCC 
 
¶6.  (U)  With Croatia Stability Pact National Coordinator 
Ambassador Boris Grigic and Stability Pact Deputy Special 
Coordinator Mozur as co-chairs, the IWG met on January 24 in 
Brussels on the basis of five point agenda conveyed in Ref 
tel.  Discussion of the various elements of the RCC structure 
and the terms of the mandate for the proposed Secretary 
General of the RCC was active and clarified concerns.  Key 
points raised by SEECP participants included: 
 
Macedonia queried as to whether the Secretary General (SYG) 
or the RCC seat should by decision come from a non-EU member 
of the SEECP.  (Comment: the issue is whether new EU members 
 
BRUSSELS 00000373  002 OF 003 
 
 
Bulgaria and Romania should stay out of the running when the 
first SYG is chosen.  Several states in the region appear to 
prefer that the first SYG come from an EU aspirant, although 
there is a recognition that the distinction would lose 
importance over time. End Comment.) 
 
Serbia referred to its paper on the structure and mandate of 
the RCC, proposing that the RCC SYG be "a strong political 
figure from the region" serving for a three year term with 
the possibility of a second term.  Serbia also proposed that 
RCC membership include SEECP members, UNMIK/Kosovo, the EU 
Troika, and "interested key Stability Pact partner countries, 
and that a committee of national coordinators be established. 
   (Ambassador Grigic responded to the Serbian proposals on 
the SYG, commenting that there is "no Balkan clone of Busek" 
and that the term should be shorter, perhaps two years.) 
 
Romania:  Pressed for attention to the SECI Regional Center 
for Combating Transborder Crime in Bucharest as a potential 
model for the RCC Seat agreement. 
 
Montenegro suggested that the RCC mandate place the RCC in 
the lead on the EU accession process's link to regional 
cooperation. 
 
¶7. (U) From the donor side, there was clear interest in 
seeing more details on the RCC structure and mandate: 
 
Norway underscored the need for the RCC mandate to allow 
sufficient flexibility to include all donors and to establish 
clearly defined political linkages between the SEECP and the 
RCC; further, there was a need to ensure that key initiatives 
and task forces (citing the initiative on disaster 
preparedness (DPPI), and refugee returns (MARRI), and on 
defense issues (RACVIAC) have clear links to the RCC. 
 
The U.K., citing domestic statutory limitations on its 
ability to support the RCC secretariat directly, asserted the 
need for the RCC mandate to allow participation by those 
countries with substantial assistance programs in the region 
 
Germany pushed for greater clarity on the members and 
partners of the RCC. 
 
¶8.  (U) The European Commission spoke forcefully in support 
of making the RCC Secretary General a strong regional 
interlocutor for the EU on strategic issues related to 
regional cooperation.  The EU rep proposed that the SG be 
required to prepare an annual report on the state of regional 
cooperation, while reporting operationally to the SEECP and 
the RCC. 
 
Politics of location and SecGen; Differing views on role of 
SYG 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) On prospective candidates for the position of RCC 
Secretary General, SP Special Coordinator Busek, during his 
 
SIPDIS 
January 20 visit to Belgrade,  received some encouraging 
signals from an advisor to PM Kostunica that Serbia was 
beginning to view favorably a possible candidacy by former 
Serbian FM Svilanovic, and might even take the step to 
propose him when nominations are opened. 
 
¶10.  (C) In a January 25 meeting in Belgrade with the US 
National Coordinator for the Stability Pact, Svilanovic said 
that he had been offered support for his (unofficial) 
candidacy to become RCC SYG by Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia 
and Greece.  Reviewing likely candidates for foreign minister 
in the Serbian government to be formed over the coming weeks, 
Svilanovic said that all - both those close to President 
Tadic and those close to Prime Minister Kostunica -- would 
support him.  Svilanovic acknowledged that Croatian officials 
had said they could not support his candidacy ("they don't 
want a Serb"). He said Zagreb was trying to play down the 
role of the SYG and would seek to have the post filled by a 
career diplomat.  Concerning the selection of the seat of the 
RCC, Svilanovic said with Macedonia supporting Bosnia's offer 
of Sarajevo and Albania expressing willingness to join a 
consensus, it was likely that Sarajevo would be chosen. 
 
¶11. (C) Serbian Assistant Minister of International Economic 
Relations Dusko Lopandic told the US National Coordinator on 
January 26 that Serbia "has ideas" on both the location of 
the RCC and who should head it.  (The Serbian government has 
 
BRUSSELS 00000373  003 OF 003 
 
 
officially offered to host the RCC in Belgrade.)  Lopandic 
noted that there were few candidates for the SYG position and 
that "Serbia would benefit from the connection" if its 
candidate were chosen.  However, he said that proposing a 
candidate was a political decision and that without a (new, 
post-election) government, Serbia could not take an official 
position on who should be SYG.  Lopandic added that in any 
case, the SYG needs to be a political-level official, and 
that the Croatian proposal to select a senior diplomat is 
"not enough." 
 
Comment: Working toward late February deadline 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The January 23-24 meetings gave the Stability Pact 
transition process additional energy, and the IWG sub-working 
groups are now tackling the specifics issues involved in 
creating the RCC structure.  In the meantime, the SEECP 
leadership troika (CiO Croatia, Greece, and incoming SEECP 
CiO Bulgaria) are working on the fundamental rewrite of the 
SEECP's own charter, which may include provision for a 
liaison office in Brussels under SEECP -- rather than RCC -- 
auspices.  This issue and others will form the agenda at the 
IWG's next meeting in Zagreb on February 14-15 and the goal 
remains to conclude this preparatory process by February 26. 
 
 
GRAY 
.