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The current contract of the REC's Executive Director, Jernej Stritih, runs out in the summer of 2000. Because Mr. Stritih did not plan to extend his contract for another term, the REC Board of Directors started the search for his successor in 1999. Over 70 applications arrived and the Board discussed the selection process at its November 1999 meeting. The main result was that Mr. Stritih's contract was extended for another year until summer 2001. In addition, the initial screening of the applications was done and 12 candidates were asked to stay in the process until next year. The Board intends to continue the evaluation process and conduct interviews with the final contestants before the end of 2000. They may also re-open the call to receive additional applications. In relation to this development, Jernej Stritih said: "I thought that the REC's 10th anniversary celebration this June would be a good opportunity to hand over the responsibilities to my successor. By then I would be the longest serving Executive Director of the REC. But it turns out that the center needs to go through some rough financial waters this year due to the phase-out of untied funding from some of the major donors and funding delays from the European Commission. So, the Board requested that I stay one more year in order not to further complicate the situation by changes at the helm. The terms of some Board members also expire this year." "I agreed for two main reasons. First, we have an excellent team working on some wonderful opportunities for the CEE environment, such as the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme in the framework of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, and support for the EU enlargement process. Second, it would be hard to leave the organisation in a precarious financial situation. It is my responsibility to make sure the funding situation is more stable by next year." "I hope that discussions about the future of the REC will take place before and at our 10th anniversary in June, when the ministers from our signatory countries as well as NGO and business sector representatives will meet in Szentendre. Currently we are in a sort of schizophrenic situation when the demand and praise for our work is growing both in CEE countries and from the donors, but on the other hand we are not able to cover the costs of our operations from the fees we are charging." "Obviously we cannot hope for untied funding such as in the early years, and the attempt to raise an endowment didn't work either. Project funding puts emphasis on effectiveness and quality of services, but may lead to a loss of focus and less "profitable" activities. For the future, we will need to find a role for the REC within the enlarged European Union and in facilitating the environmental integration of Balkan countries into the international community. We realise that there is a lot of scope for an organisation like the REC in these contexts, but we need to secure the financial viability in the short term." |
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