As a regional initiative under the auspices of the RCC, ERI SEE has to clearly articulate the commitment of its' members to regional ownership, to have a sustainable organisational structure, and to build capacity to become a recognised and attractive partner in EU funded projects with regional character.

The current legal structure of the ERI SEE Secretariat as a national public institution of the Republic of Croatia hinders the implementation of the full scope of cooperation, including a stronger and more balanced co-financing of ERI SEE by its' members. By hosting the Secretariat since 2004, Croatia has played this role beyond the originally foreseen period and has substantially co-financed ERI SEE. Transfomation of the ERI SEE Secretariat into an international organisation would lead to a legal basis for a sustainable, regionally owned and co-financed structure under the auspices of the RCC. There would be no legal prohibition to maintaining the principle of the rotating seat and hosting the ERI SEE Secretariat.

The proposal of a new Memorandum of Understanding on the Role and Organisation of ERI SEE has been adopted by the Governing Board on 8 April 2010 and was sent to SEE Ministers for a final round of national consultations. The forthcoming 23rd Session of the Council of Europe Standing Conference of Ministers of Education taking place in Brdo will provide for the ministers of ERI SEE member states an opportunity to make a new and firm decision about the stable continuation of the regional education cooperation and the existence of the ERI SEE. The MoU signing ceremony is envisaged to take place immediately following the closure of the CoE Conference on 5 June.