The Regional Centre of the Basel Convention for Training and Technology Transfer for Central and Eastern Europe in Bratislava was established  in accordance with Article 14 of the Basel Convention in 1996 with funding from the Swiss Government.  The Regional Centre was established as a unit of the Slovak Environmental Agency within a Centre of Waste and Environmental Management to address specific regional or sub-regional needs.

The Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, at its Third Meeting, concluded the selection of site for the establishment of regional centre for Central and Eastern Europe. Based on the conclusions of the feasibility study financed by Finland, the Slovak Republic was selected as the site of the Regional Training Centre (further RTC) for the Central and Eastern European Countries.

The establishment of the Basel Convention Regional Centre BCRC in Bratislava was assigned by a contractual agreement between the Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in Geneva and Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic.

The BCRC for Training and Technology Transfer for Central and Eastern Europe in Bratislava started its activities in February 1997 after UNEP Project ”Establishment of the Regional Centre of the Basel Convention for Training and Technology Transfer in the Slovak Republic” (UN – UNEP/SBC/SAE project No. BS/3100-97-01) was signed by the Minister of Environment of the Slovak Republic, the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the chief of UNEP Environment Fund on February 4, 1997 in the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi , Kenya. The first workshop took place in June 1997.

Geographical Scope of the Regional Training Centre is limited to the Central and Eastern Europe. Nineteen countries of the Central and Eastern Europe were served by the centre in 1997. At present the BCRC in Bratislava serves 18 countries of the CEE, however, actively cooperates in many activities with Turkey.

The Centre, however, has a specific role because the Parties from the half of the region are new EU members. It is very important to have a different approach in cooperation with these countries, especially if they are not eligible for specific financial support.  

Central and Eastern Europe Countries served by Basel Convention Regional Centre in Bratislava: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Ukraine.