Over 300 participants from 20 countries have participated on 21 and 22 September in the annual conference organised by the South East Europe Programme in Thessaloniki, Greece. Under the title "Transnational Cooperation as a strategic instrument for development in South East Europe", the conference gathered representatives of national, regional and local authorities from SEE countries, as well as participants from NGO, researchers and academics, project partners and project promoters - and all those dedicated to further developing cooperation in the South East Europe Area. A mix of political and thematic presentations, workshops, as well as a project fair have illustrated the challenges as well as the benefits of transnational cooperation in South East Europe.

A mix of political and thematic presentations, workshops, as well as a project fair have illustrated the challenges as well as the benefits of transnational cooperation in South East Europe.

The first session was an opportunity for prominent representatives from the European Commission and the SEE countries to present their views and discuss the future outlook of regional cooperation. The general economic and social context of the region was the focus of the second session. Furthermore, the conference provided the grounds for an informed exchange of views about the development of strategic projects, with speakers reflecting on similarities and differences as well as best practices gathered from other transnational programmes active in the region and beyond.

The workshops have tackled selected themes, in line with the latest developments towards the third call for proposals and have allowed the participants to interact towards the development of a thematic framework for strategic and innovative projects in South East Europe.

The projects fair, in which 15 projects funded by the SEE Programme within the first call for proposals have presented their activities, provided an opportunity for the attendees to find more about the types of projects implemented and their first results.

You can download the presentations delivered during the plenary session and the workshops, as well as the pictures gallery from the conference website www.seeconference2010.net.

We are thanking all participants for their contribution to the success of the conference and we are looking forward to seeing you at our future events.