It now counts 17 member states, based on region and democratic values: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

[3] The origin of the Central European Initiative lies in the creation of what was then known as the Quadragonale in Budapest on 11 November 1989 whose founding members were Italy, Austria, Hungary and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).

[3] The conjunction with the fall of the Berlin Wall was a coincidence, yet the CEI has been involved in democratizing Eastern European countries after the Soviet Bloc dissolved.

[2] The Initiative aimed at overcoming the division in blocks by re-establishing cooperation links, among countries of different political orientations and economic structures.

This was largely headed by Italy, who at the time, wanted greater involvement in supporting Eastern European countries in order to rival a newly reunited Germany.

It promotes connectivity and diversity through 6 main areas: Good governance, economic growth, media freedom, environmental protection, intercultural cooperation and scientific cooperation/education & training.