Council of Ministers of Culture in the South East Europe

Montenegro is a member of the Council of Ministers of Culture in the South East Europe, a regional body that provides through its acting strengthening of cultural linking of the countries from the region. Established in 2005 at the meeting in Copenhagen, this regional council today has 11 member countries, whose ministers of culture meet every spring in order to discuss joint projects and programmes. Their decisions and priorities are contained in declarations passed after each meeting, as well as through action plans intended to provide realizaiton of cultural policies. Although it was designed as a policy body, whose main task was to provide formal preconditions for cooperation between its members states, the work of the Council gradually moves from formal to concrete joint activies. Functioning of the Council is based on the principles of democracy, so that one-year presidency is conducted in accordance with aphabetical order. Previous, current and future presiding member state comprise the Council’s Secretariat, which ensures continuity in regional policies and priorities. Importance of this independent regional initiative is also increasingly evident to international organizations, which often base their programmes on cooperation with the Council itself and its members. In this manner, ministers of culture from the South East Europe protect and promote exceptional cultural potential of the entire region, take specific activities and unite their intentions, which not only establishe closer cooperation among the countries, but the region also appears on the international stage as a significant policy acter in the field of culture.