Archival article
Slovenia is a co-founder of the Adriatic Ionian Initiative (AII), which officially came into being in Ancona in May 2000. The initiative receives support from the EU with its representative of the European Commission being a member of the Adriatic Ionian Council. The purpose of the initiative is cooperation between members situated along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas in the development and security of the entire region. In addition to Slovenia, the members are: Italy, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro.
Slovenia held the presidency of the AII in the period 2003–2004 and performs this function in 2012–2013. }}
Fields of activities
Considering the specific nature of the sea and the coastal area, the countries cooperate in a number of fields, with 6 round tables representing the framework of AII activities. The round tables include: the fight against organised crime; environmental protection and sustainable development; economy, tourism and small and medium-sized enterprises cooperation; transport and maritime cooperation; culture and education; and inter-university cooperation.
AII and culture
During its presidency 2003–2004, Slovenia, in the framework of culture, focused on an integrated approach to the conservation of cultural heritage and on the implementation of international legal instruments in this field. The main topics discussed were archaeological research in heritage protection, underwater cultural heritage, integrated conservation of protected areas and salt pans as eco-museums. Slovenia also included the Slovene coast with the University of Primorska in the activities during its presidency.
In June 2012 at the meeting of high representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, and Slovenia in Ljubljana the procedure for the adoption of the Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Macroregion, and the upcoming Regional Cooperation Programme AII projects were addressed.