Romania is set to take over the chairmanship of the Central European Initiative on January 1, 2026.
According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to AGERPRES on Monday, during the informal ministerial meeting of the Central European Initiative in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the head of Romanian diplomacy, Oana Toiu, confirmed our country's availability to take over the chairmanship of the CEI starting January 1, 2026, according to the rotation principle that regulates the order of presidencies.
"This approach reconfirms the priority interest given by Romania to regional cooperation, good neighbourly relations and the European accession process of the candidate states, both those in the Eastern neighbourhood, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and the partners in the Western Balkans. During the mandate, Romania aims to contribute as a priority to accelerating the European integration process of the candidates, to boosting regional cooperation with an emphasis on connectivity - energy, transport and digital -, to strengthening political dialogue between participants and economic cooperation. Romania will also act to improve the resilience of the region in the current geopolitical context, marked by the intensification of hybrid threats and attacks," the press release states.
Romania will succeed Serbia and will exercise this mandate until December 31, 2026.
The CEI is a regional cooperation format, which brings together nine EU Member States - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary - and seven non-EU states - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine. The structure is supported by a secretariat based in Trieste (Italy) and is led by a Secretary General.
The strategic objectives of the CEI are to facilitate the creation of a united Europe, by establishing a space of convergence of fundamental values as extensive as possible at the level of the continent; focusing cooperation on the transfer of expertise and strengthening the capacities of less developed Member States.
Romania has held the CEI Presidency only once, in 2009, the year in which the Central European Initiative celebrated its 20th anniversary.
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