ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR
EUROPE CONCLUDES ITS
FIFTY-THIRD SESSION WITH ACTION ON REFORM AND
INCREASED REGIONAL COOPERATION
23 April 1998
The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) concluded its
fifty-third session this afternoon by adopting a number of
recommendations on strengthening cooperation within the region
and on continuing implementation of its reform programme.
Following three days of discussions, the Commission agreed
that, given the limited resources available, the selection of
projects to be accorded technical assistance, whether emanating
from sub-regions or from individual countries, should be based on
their merit. The Executive Secretary of the ECE,
Yves Berthelot, was requested to pay particular attention to
countries that did not benefit sufficiently from other programmes
and technical assistance and to intensify the attention paid to
the specific circumstances of the ECE's Mediterranean countries.
The Commission further expressed its appreciation of the
effective cooperation and dialogue that had been established with
subregional organizations and initiatives and invited the
Executive Secretary to continue to strengthen this cooperation.
In addition, the Commission invited the Executive Secretary to
continue his efforts to explore ways of increasing
extra-budgetary funding for its operational activities and the
Coordination Unit for Operational Activities.
The Commission also decided to establish an open-ended ad hoc
working group composed of member States and the secretariat in
order to consider and develop guidelines and practices governing
relationships with the business community. The group will begin
its work as soon as possible and make a first progress report to
the Commission at its ad hoc informal meeting in Autumn 1998.
That last decision was foreseen in the ECE's Plan of Action,
drawn up in 1997 with the aim of providing a new thrust for the
organization's work in the years ahead.
Along the strategic directions provided by the Plan, several
decisions were taken at this session to move the reform process
forward, including an agreement to strengthen coordination with
the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
on all issues of common concern. The Commission further called on
the Executive Secretary to maintain dialogue with the
Secretary-General of UNCTAD and report on progress achieved at
the next session of the Commission. It also agreed that annual
meetings be held between the senior staff of the ECE and the UNDP
Regional Bureau for Central European and CIS countries, primarily
relating to the fields of environment and sustainable development
as well as areas where UNDP has started to develop some
activities (e.g. statistics, energy) or may do so in the future
(e.g. trade and transport) with the view of enlarging the scope
of cooperation in operational activities. In addition, the ECE
agreed that meetings be held between the Regional Office of UNEP
for Europe and the ECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
in order to coordinate work and identify new opportunities and
that it collaborate with HABITAT in organizing joint training
activities for countries in transition.
Also this afternoon, the Commission elected Eveline Herfkens
(Netherlands) as its new Chairman. Elected to serve as
Vice-Chairpersons were Petros Eftychiou (Cyprus), Miroslav Somol
(Czech Republic) and Bolat Utemuratov (Kazakhstan).
In a brief address, Mr. Berthelot thanked the outgoing Bureau
for the work carried out in the last year. Under the chairmanship
of Peter Naray (Hungary), the ECE had accomplished good work,
notably in implementing the reform. The Bureau had proved a
perfect forum for liaison between the secretariat and the
different constituent parts of the ECE.
In concluding remarks, Mr. Naray said the reforms were
implemented in practice; the economic Seminar, held on 20 April,
on enterprise and bank restructuring in transition economies had
proved to be very successful. Such seminars should be used, as
was done this year, to increase the substantive element of the
debate at the ECE's annual sessions.
Mr. Berthelot endorsed the remarks of the Chairman and
welcomed the climate of trust and confidence that had prevailed
throughout the session, which had allowed delegates to
"think ECE".
Prior to the end of the session delegates discussed their
contribution to this summer's review by the Economic and Social
Council of the work of the ECE and the other Regional Commissions
of the United Nations. That review will focus on "the most
appropriate division of labour with regard to both
standard-setting and technical cooperation activities and
prospects for further rationalization and consolidation".
Part of the ECE's contribution to the review will be the
report prepared by ECE for this session and which outlines how
the Commission harmonizes its activities with those of global and
other regional groupings with similar expertise in order to
achieve greater efficiency and avoid duplication of work. In a
decision adopted this afternoon, delegates reaffirmed, among
other things, the need to strengthen ECE cooperation with other
bodies according to complementarities in terms of mandates,
membership and approaches to issues of common concern.
Other measures adopted today included:
- common guidelines to prioritization of the work of its
"Principal Subsidiary Bodies" (PSBs);
- and a recommendation by the Chairman, following his
consultations related to the biennalization of the annual
sessions of the Commission, that the Group of Experts continue
the examination of relevant legal and other aspects of
biennalization and report to the Commission. He noted that the
ECE could find a compromise solution by alternating emphasis from
substantive matters to organizational matters over a period of
two years.
The decisions adopted this afternoon, as well as a summary of
the debate at the fifty-third session, will be found in the
annual report of the ECE.
For further information please
contact:
Information Unit
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations, Room 370
CH - 1211 GENEVA 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 44 44
Fax: +41 22 917 05 05
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org