13th Meeting of the PCC-SEE Committee of Ministers
St.Pölten, Austria - The 13th Meeting of the PCC-SEE Committee of Ministers was convened on 5 May 2015 under the auspices of the Hungarian Chairmanship-in-Office. It took place back-to-back with the Salzburg Forum Ministerial Conference which was organized by the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. Ministers responsible for home affairs and authorized high officials from the Contracting Parties to the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE) gathered with the aim to discuss the progress in the PCC SEE implementation process and further modalities necessary for the advancement of cross-border law enforcement cooperation amongst their countries. The meeting was also attended by observers from EU agencies, international organizations and regional initiatives, as well as by Kosovo*.
The Committee of Ministers evaluated the progress in the PCC SEE implementation process, presenting the most outstanding achievements the PCC SEE implementation process has contributed to, and reflected on the main underlying PCC SEE strategic objectives, expectations and needs, which are to define the PCC SEE instrument in the next multi-annual period. They further endorsed the work programme of the incoming PCC SEE Trio Chairmanship of Macedonia, Moldova, and Montenegro, which sets out the strategic and practical priorities for the upcoming 18 months. As a result of considerable achievements in the PCC SEE decision-making mechanism and building of capacities, the Contracting Parties identified on several occasions that the practical advancement of the PCC SEE implementation is timely. In this regard, the Committee of Ministers tasked the PCC SEE Secretariat to support the Contracting Parties in their practical application of PCC SEE provisions. It was unanimously agreed that this support is to be provided in ways which will not lead to any duplication of efforts in the region and that the PCC SEE Secretariat shall not be transformed into an operational hub. Moreover, the Secretariat shall have no operational involvement at any time. As a result of the meeting, the ministers and authorized high officials from the Contracting Parties signed a joint statement, aimed to uphold the seeking of financial resources and subsequent application for funding through projects under the framework of the European Commission’s ISF-Police fund. Following prior consultations with the Contracting Parties, DCAF appointed a new Head of the PCC SEE Secretariat.