XVI ADRIATIC AND IONIAN COUNCIL of Athens

A Special meeting of the Adriatic and Ionian Council ( Ministers of Foreign Affairs ) was held in Athens under the Albanian Presidency of the Adriatic Ionian Initiative on on 6 February 2014.

Not foreseen in the regular Calendar of events of the Presidency, it was convenend by the Chairmanship - back to back with the stakeholders Conference of the EUSAIR - to stress the convinced support of the eight Governments to this process deemed fundamental for the future of the eight participating Countries.

The meeting formally and solemnly gave evidence of the Adriatic and Ionian Iniziative being the INTERGOVERNMENTAL ANCHORAGE of the macroregional process and confirmed the full support and engagements of the Eight Governments to the EUSAIR.

Opening the meeting , the Chairman in Office Minister Bushati expressed the warmest thanks of the Eight Ministers to the European Commission and personally to Commissioners Damanaki and Hahn for their continuous support and for encouraging AII to organized the AI Council back to back with the Stakeholders Meeting .

The Special meeting of the AI Council offered the opportunity to take stock of the Intergovernmental activity of the first part of the Albanian Presidency and made possible a discussion , at Ministerial level , of the preparation of the final phase of the macroregional process and of the actions that , in each and every Country , were put in place in order to prepare the ground for the fundamental document , the Action Plan , which will be adopted in the second part of the year .