This report on the activities of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat is submitted by the Secretary General of the RCC to the RCC Board in line with Article 10 of the Statute of the RCC. It covers the period between 1 March and 8 May 2009.

In the period under consideration the RCC Secretariat continued with the active implementation of the RCC Strategic Work Programme 2008-2009, in particular contributing to the development of regional cooperation in SEE and cooperation with the EU, its institutions and other relevant Brussels – based institutions.

During the reporting period meetings were organized between the RCC Secretary General and two Commissioners, responsible respectively for Enlargement and Science and Research. A Ministerial Conference on Developing Regional Research Strategy for the Western Balkans was held in Sarajevo on 24 April 2009 jointly organized by the Czech EU Presidency and the RCC Secretariat. Consultations and preparations are undergoing with the representatives of the upcoming Swedish EU Presidency concerning a large-scale development conference for SEE to be held on 9 December 2009 in Brussels organized in cooperation with the RCC and supported by the European Commission and the European Policy Centre. The RCC Secretary General held political consultations with senior officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Hungary and Switzerland as well as with the Council of Europe Development Bank.

Close cooperation has been established and meetings held with the Members of European Parliament who are particularly active on issues related to the RCC region. A Project Portfolio containing 18 project ideas was submitted to the Commission in March for initial comments. Based on the initial comments received from the Commission a follow-up Project Portfolio has been submitted to the Commission with elaborated Preliminary Project Ideas.
The RCC Secretariat has received profile and acknowledgement as a place of regional cooperation and ownership by visits (in chronological order) of Minister of State at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Gernot Erler, EU Trio Presidency Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Messrs Bernard Kouchner, Karel Schwarzenberg and Carl Bildt and Croatian President Stjepan Mesić.

A complete list of events attended by the Secretary General of the RCC and the officials of the RCC Secretariat is attached to this Report as Annex I.