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On a very hot day in July of 1989, then President George
Bush of the United States, in a speech delivered in Budapest, pledged five
million dollars to create an environmental center. The announcement came
as quite a surprise and required some quick brainstorming to come up with
the concept of an organisation, based in Hungary, that would serve the
entire region of Central and Eastern Europe.
As a result, the Foundation Charter of The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) was signed on June 20, 1990. And on September 6, the Budapest office of the REC opened its doors in the presence of the President of Hungary, Arpad Goncz, and the heads of environment ministries from Austria, the European Commission, Hungary, Poland and the United States. The theme of the conference organized by and at the REC on the occasion of the opening was Sustainable Development in Eastern Europe: the Role of the Environment. In retrospect, that theme can be regarded as the thread running through the first ten years of the REC's existence as the activities of the Center unfolded. By the end of 1990, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway had added their support to the Center, with donations of ECU 9,870,000 pledged for its first three years of operations. And the rest is history! In recognition of that historic founding, the REC is celebrating its 10th Anniversary at its new headquarters in Szentendre, Hungary, from June 17-20, 2000. Some of the distinguished guests include the EU's environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom and environment ministers from throughout Central, Eastern and Western Europe. Leaders from business, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, foundations and international financial institutes will also attend, as will past and present supporters and staff of the REC. The main event will be the Ministerial Consultation on Environmental Policymaking in CEE on June 19. This will be an open discussion between the CEE and EU ministers and the environment commissioner about: the process of EU enlargement in the environment sector and how enlargement should be dealt with under the EU's 6th Environmental Action Programme; opportunities for cooperation under the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme (REReP) for the Balkans; progress made in the environmental sector by the CEE countries during the 1990s; and preparations for the next Environment for Europe conference scheduled for September 2002 (see full story page 17). Another key event is the second meeting between the dialogue group of candidate country NGOs and European Commission (EC) officials from June 17-19. Forty environmental NGOs from 18 countries will discuss with EC officials various issues related to the accession process and the environment. NGOs from Turkey, having recently joined EU accession talks, will also attend. Following the last meeting held October 20-21 in Brussels (see full story, The Bulletin, April 2000, page 8), the NGOs highlighted a number of specific issues for future discussion including transport, agriculture and energy. As in Brussels, the June meeting will again provide an opportunity for NGOs to directly address EC environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom, plus the opportunity to participate in the above ministerial consultation. Other scheduled events are a meeting of the REC's General Assembly (GA), Board of Directors and Signatories to the REC Charter. This will include the election of a new president for the GA and a presentation by REC Executive Director Jernej Stritih about the future strategy of the REC for the period 2000-2005 followed by discussions related to the ministerial consultation. The REC will also produce an Annual Report entitled The first ten years - expected to become a treasured family photo album for the REC. The report will include a narrative history of the Center, the results of an impact assessment conducted by the REC in 1999 among all of its stakeholder groups, and the major achievements of, and grants awarded by, the REC in 1999. It will also present a future vision and strategy for the REC by the REC's Board and management. |
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