Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE)

Regional Cooperation Council

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is an all-inclusive, regionally owned and led cooperation framework. This framework engages RCC participants from South East Europe (SEE), members of the international community and donors on subjects which are important and of interest to the SEE, with a view to promoting and advancing the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the region.

Within the framework of the general political guidelines set by the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the RCC works to develop and maintain a political climate of dialogue, reconciliation, tolerance and openness towards cooperation, with a view to enabling the implementation of regional programmes aimed at economic and social development to the benefit of the people in the region.

RCC has also been entrusted with the coordination of the Multi-annual Programme for Regional Cooperation Area (MAPREA) within the Berlin Process, upon request of the Western Balkan 6 Leaders and supported by the European Commission. MAP REA aims to enable unobstructed flow of goods, services, capital and highly skilled labour; making the region more attractive for investment and trade; and accelerating convergence with the EU, thus bringing prosperity to Western Balkans citizens.

Under the mobility component of MAP REA, RCC is coordinating the work of the Joint Working Group for Recognition of Academic Qualifications (together with Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE), with the final goal of endorsing principles for the Model of Automatic Recognition of Academic Qualifications in WB6, completing Joint Exercise on Recognition of Academic Qualifications in implementation, agreeing on a model for Recognition of Academic Qualifications, and launching the Joint Information System facilitating Recognition of Academic Qualifications.

In addition to its work aiming at reducing – and where possible removing – the obstacles to increased mobility, RCC is also active in measure for enhanced connectivity and improved competitiveness in SEE, while also contributing to better governance, improved functioning of the rule of law and enhanced security in the region.

RCC helps prosperity and growth through regional action in SEE, while advancing European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The region is perceived as a prosperous place of dialogue, freedom and mobility, rich in cultural heritage, where each person feels safe and protected by the rule of law. RCC has been working very closely with all the governments in the region and relevant regional cooperation mechanisms.

The organisation, headed by the Secretary General, Majlinda Bregu, is financed by the European Union and its SEE and other Board participants. It has a Secretariat based in Sarajevo, and a Liaison Office in Brussels.

 

Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE)

The Education Reform Initiative of SouthEastern Europe (ERI SEE) is a regional platform for cooperation in the field of education and training. It supports national reforms in education and training through regional capacity building, transfer of know-how and linking these efforts to European frameworks for education development (the EU Work Programme ‘Education and Training 2020’, the Bologna and the Copenhagen Processes). ERI SEE focuses its activities on the priorities defined in the multiannual strategic documents of the participating countries, as well as on the EU country reports and recommendations, and assessments of the Economic Reform Programmes.

The Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE) supports sustainable education reforms through regional cooperation. It aims at fostering shared European standards in education and training for a rapid integration of its member countries into a wider European area of education, thus contributing to the success and sustainability of the EU integration process.

ERI SEE is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ministers of Education, Science and Research of the South Eastern Europe. (Memorandum of Understanding on the Role and Organization of the ERI SEE, Brdo 2010).

Members of the ERI SEE Governing Board are the signatory Ministries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, KulturKontakt Austria on behalf of the Austrian Ministry of Education, and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

The three priority areas of the work of ERI SEE are: 

  • Modernization of VET and Cooperation between VET and Business sector, coordinating the Western Balkans Alliance for Work-based learning, consisting of the VET agencies and Chambers of Commerce from the region;
  • Recognition of higher-education qualifications through co-ordination of the RCC – ERI SEE Working Group for Recognition of Academic Qualifications, thus supporting the MAP REA priority areas and goal
  • Quality assurance in general education (teacher training, quality assurance) supporting the SEE Network of Quality Assurance experts, including Teacher Education and Training through coordinating the SEE Teacher Education and Training network.

 

The ERI SEE Secretariat is led by the director Ms Tina Šarić and is located in Belgrade.

 

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