The 26th Issue of the Regional Cooperation Council´s (RCC) for South East Europe Newsletter is out: In focus

Two days ago the RCC uploaded the 26th Issue of its Newsletter.

This issue is entirely dedicated to the ongoing process of developing the SEE 2020 Growth Strategy.

This is a response of the countries of the region, members of the South East Europe Cooperation Process and the Regional Cooperation Council to deal with their outstanding economic, social and development challenges.

Within this process the RCC has established the Social Agenda 2020 Regional Working Group with well specified objectives, functions and outputs. The objective of the working group is to build on current national and regional social development priorities and actions to prepare a regional long term social development strategy and action plan for the Western Balkans, the so called Social Agenda 2020.

The Social Agenda 2020 regional Working Group is expected to:

·    Develop Social Agenda 2020, as a strategic document composed of a set of regionally coordinated social development priorities;

·    Map current interventions against the priorities and assess the extent to which these priorities are appropriately addressed;

·    Identify actions to address challenges, advising on regional and sub-regional cooperation to advance the implementation;

·    Develop key performance indicators;

·    Advise on the monitoring and evaluation of actions that contribute to the implementation of Social Agenda 2020;

·    Identify means of improving data collection and the ongoing measurement and evaluation

·    Meet annually to review the implementation of the strategies, gauge success and recommend adjustments to the strategies or goals-

At the end of the process and prior to the endorsement of the SEE 2020 Strategy as a whole in November 2013, the following outcomes are expected:

·    Social development framework that sets out strategic objectives and headline targets for social development until 2020;

·    Priorities at the policy and initiative level;

·    Key performance indicators and expected results;

·    An implementation plan;

·    A budget framework;

·    An international support strategy that incorporates the roles and responsibilities of partners;

·    Organizational and institutional arrangements.

The SEE Health Network is an active partner in this process.

It is also currently in an intensive process of developing the health aspects of inclusive growth to be an unseparable part of the SEE 2020 Strategy´s Growth pillar.

Additionally, the SEE Health Network is developing its own SEEHN Health 2020 Strategy and Action Plan. These document will be fully aligned to its own as well as to the global and European policies and commitments, namely:

• the SEEHN Banja Luka Pledge of 2011 "Health in All Policies: A Shared Goal and Responsibility!;
• the WHO Europe Health 2020 Policy and the European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services;
• the EU 2020 Strategy.

To learn more on the why, what, how and when questions, please, read the articles of the 26th Issues of the RCC Newsletter.

You can find them following the link: http://www.rcc.int/index.php?action=nl_online&id=26&utm_source=newsletter-262013&utm_medium=email

Newsletter 26/2013 May 21, 2013

IN FOCUS read more SEE 2020 – A JOINT REGIONAL FRONT FOR FIGHT AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT, by Nand Shani, Expert on Economic and Social Development, RCC Secretariat The unemployment rates in the Western Balkan countries, already at precarious levels at the onset of the global economic crisis, have deteriorated sharply...   OUR SOUTH EAST EUROPE INTERVIEW with Spiro Ksera, Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Albania Political consensus, economic and social prosperity depend on close cooperation with neighbouring countries read more Boosting employment in South East Europe by 2020 by acting ‘smart’ Unemployment, skills and jobs mismatch on labour markets, poor labour mobility, inadequate education systems, insufficiently developed life-long learning systems, etc. are just some of the common issues that seek attention... read more ‘Healthy’ investment in growth in South East Europe Health issues are very sensitive in every society. Providing good health services to citizens in budget-conscious environments, such as South East European (SEE) countries, is a rather ‘painful’ agenda,.. read more FROM BRUSSELS ANGLE INTERVIEW with Thomas Bender, Head of External Relations, Neighbourhood Policy, Enlargement and IPA Unit, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission Strength of South East Europe lies in the common vision of 2020 read more   GUEST COMMENTATOR "Economic growth in South East Europe has been interrupted by both the global economic crisis and the deepening crisis in the Eurozone... " read more Will Bartlett Senior Research Fellow, London School of Economics       ACTIVITIES IN BRIEF RCC Board adopts the organization’s new strategy and work programme Letter of intent on joint aviation services in South East Europe signed by aviation organizations from the region more activities   EVENTS CALENDAR RCC EVENTS 30.05.2013 Regional Cooperation Council Annual Meeting, Ohrid 26.05.2013 - 28.05.2013 Conference on Strategic Communication, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia more RCC events CULTURAL EVENTS IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE 26.05.2013 - 02.06.2013 58th Sterijino pozorje Thetre Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia 19.05.2013 - 26.05.2013 European Film Festival, Chisinau, Tiraspol, Moldova more cultural events