1. Budapest, July 12, 1989:
„...economic progress cannot be at the expense of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
I will ask the United States Congress to appropriate $5 million to establish an international environmental center for Central and Eastern Europe, to be based right here in Budapest, which will bring together private and government experts and organizations to address the ecological crisis. After all, our shared heritage is the Earth.
Hungary has led Eastern and central Europe in addressing the concerns of your citizens for cleaner air and water. And now you can do even more, working with the West to build a bridge of technical and scientific cooperation.”
President G. H. W. Bush

2. Bridging Partners, Regions, and Concepts…
Presentation of
The Regional Environmental Center
for Central and Eastern Europe
Dr. Radoje Lausevic
Regional Director for SEE

3. Our Mission
“(…) The REC is a non-partisan, non-advocacy, not-for-profit international organisation with a mission to assist in solving environmental problems (…)”
REC Video – Click!

4. Bridges – Across Borders
Government
NGOs
Government
NGOs
The REC
Local
Governments
Business
Local
Governments
Business
Citizens
Citizens

5. The REC
The REC is legally based on a charter signed by the governments of 28 countries and the European Commission
Inter-governmental organisation
180+ staff (some 30 nationalities)
Over 300 running projects
12 million Euro annual turnover

6. Board of Directors
CORRADO CLINI Chairman of the Board of Directors Director General Department for Environmental Research and Development / Ministry for the Environment and Territory / Italy
SOLEDAD BLANCO European Commission Directorate General of Environment / Head of the unit “Enlargement and Neighbouring Countries”
NADYA BONEVA Executive Director Time Ecoprojects Foundation / Bulgaria
ALLAN GROMOV Director General Ministry of the Environment / Estonia
JON OPEM Senior Advisor Ministry of Environment, Department for International Cooperation / Norway
ISTVAN POMAZI Chief Advisor Department for Strategic Planning, Ministry of Environment and Water / Hungary
YUKIO YANAGISAWA Professor of Department of Environmental Science Graduate School of Frontier Science / University of Tokyo / Japan

7. CEE 15 COs 2 FOs Head Office New Office Operation beyond CEE!
Banja Luka
Kosovo/a
Podgorica
Head Office
Szentendre,
Hungary
New Office
Turkey/Ankara
Operation
beyond CEE!

8. Pillars of Bridging geo-political position
mission, given and supported by Signatories
CO network
flexible staff
project-management system
capital from 13 years of existence
the know-how, goodwill, expert network and institution network
3000 projects
sharing knowledge and best practice

9. Programmes and Funds
REC carries out projects within the following programmes and funds:
Business and Environment
Capacity Building
Climate Change
Environmental Law
Environmental Policy & Local Initiatives
Information
NGO Support
Public Participation
Italian Trust Fund
Japan Special Fund

10. Activities and Tools New Solutions: Lessons Learned Direct Solutions
Enabling, Capacity Building
Information
Policy Tools
Cooperation
Transition
Accession
Sustainable Development
1990
2000
2010
Post Accession Support
New Solutions:
Lessons Learned
Direct Solutions

11. Key Achievements in TB protection
Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme (REReP) (14/05/2002 to 30/07/2003); funding: EC, Obnova programme, Phare programme)
Promotion of networks and exchange of experience in the countries of SEE ( ); funding: Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
Cross-Border Municipal Cooperation: Drina River Basin (06/12/ /03/2004); funding: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway

12. Key Achievements in TB protection (2)
Plants along the borders ( ); funding: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Transpark – The Golden Gates of Danube (November 2001 – November 2002); funding: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Germany

13. Our Future Developing new centers of excellence:
Sustainable Development
Climate Change
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Renewable Energy
Business & Environment
Environmental Investments
Transfer of best practices from the new EU member states to the SEE and EECCA regions

14. Bridging – Beyond 2004
REC’s strategic program development approach is tailored to the needs of
(new) EU Member States
Countries negotiating their EU Accession (Candidate Countries)
Balkan Stability Pact Countries (SEE, West Balkan countries)
NIS/EECCA Countries
Turkey

15. Our Future
We have introduced modern approaches to sustainable development to countries in the region with widely diverse histories, cultures and levels of development. We aim to build on this know-how and remain a solid partner for government and business in the Europe and beyond!

16. Thank You for Your Attention!