United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/8

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 123 (f)

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 66/111 of 9 December 2011, by which it granted observer status to the Central European Initiative,

Recalling also its resolution 67/7 of 19 November 2012, in which it invited the specialized agencies and other organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to cooperate with the Initiative in order to continue joint activities for the achievement of common objectives,

Recalling further the Articles of the Charter of the United Nations that encourage activities through regional cooperation to promote the goals and objectives of the United Nations,

Appreciating the efforts made by the Initiative to strengthen its relations with the United Nations system and relevant international and regional organizations with the ultimate goal of achieving a concrete positive impact on the political and socioeconomic development of the region through the implementation of projects and programmes in all priority areas,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolution 67/7,

1. Notes the celebration, in November 2014, of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Central European Initiative, initially known as the Quadragonale, the establishment of which coincided with the end of the cold war, which led to complex transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe;

2. Values the continuing contribution of the Initiative to the political dialogue and its project management support, providing its member States with a flexible and pragmatic platform for regional cooperation;

3. Welcomes the Central European Initiative Plan of Action 2014–2016 aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in fields such as transport, energy, with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, environment, small and medium-sized enterprises, business development, research, education, the information society, culture and media;

4. Notes the efforts of the Initiative to support, elaborate and realize concrete joint regional projects in strategic areas;

5. Acknowledges, in this context, the fruitful cooperation between the Initiative and the European Union, as one of the main co-funders of such projects, and supports the efforts of the Initiative to take concrete steps for the establishment of other mutual beneficial partnerships with the European Union;

6. Welcomes the financing of projects by the Central European Initiative Trust Fund at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, financed entirely by Italy, which provides mainly grant-type assistance for specific components of technical cooperation projects, linked to large operations of the Bank in Initiative member States not part of the European Union, in a number of areas, including agriculture, transport, energy, assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises, municipal infrastructure and services, banking, insurance, institution-building and capacity-building;

7. Also welcomes the financing of small-scale multilateral projects in the priority areas by the Central European Initiative Cooperation Fund, to which all member States contribute, and of projects related to capacity-building and the sharing of good practices with Initiative member States not part of the European Union through the Know-how Exchange Programme, financed by Austria and Italy;

8. Notes the contributions made by the Parliamentary and Business Dimensions of the Initiative to strengthening multifaceted regional cooperation;

9. Appeals for greater cooperation between the Initiative and international organizations and international financial institutions in co-financing important projects in the region;

10. Welcomes the cooperation established between the Initiative and other regional organizations and initiatives;

11. Also welcomes the commitment of the Initiative to promoting fruitful cooperation with the United Nations, the specialized agencies and other organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, in particular mutual participation in events and meetings of common interest, and to developing practical and results-oriented joint projects;

12. Further welcomes the cooperation between the Initiative and the Economic Commission for Europe in the area of enterprise development, with the United Nations Environment Programme in the area of the environment, with the World Tourism Organization in the area of tourism, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the area of agriculture, with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the area of culture and with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in the areas of science and technology;

13. Notes the enhanced cooperation between the Initiative and the Economic Commission for Europe, within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed in 1998, through the more recent participation of the Initiative in activities of the Commission in Geneva;

14. Also notes the commitment of the Initiative to contributing to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals at the regional and global levels;

15. Acknowledges the interest of the Initiative in the adoption by the General Assembly of a comprehensive post 2015 development agenda at its seventieth session;

16. Invites the Secretary-General to strengthen dialogue with the Initiative with a view to promoting cooperation and coordination between the secretariats;

17. Invites the specialized agencies and other organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to continue to cooperate with the Initiative in order to continue joint activities for the achievement of common objectives;

18. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

19. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session, under the item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations”, the sub-item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Central European Initiative”.

48th plenary meeting 11 November 2014