Cooperation in the Black Sea region faces gridlock because of frozen conflicts (Jun 15, 2007)

Jun 15, 2007 (Romania Report & sources)

The 29th General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC)* in Varna, Bulgaria (June 13-14) put forth controversies among member states regarding frozen conflicts in the region.

In spite of pro-cooperation statements, the Azeri representative Asaf Hajiyev said his country would not tackle regional economic issues until Armenia withdraws its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan’s territory.

Even if other participants had a lower voice or preferred to skip the frozen conflicts issue, it is however likely that problems in Nagorno-Karabakh, Transdniestria, and Ossetia will further prevent the Black Sea region from boosting its economic cooperation process.

Romania’s MEP Roberta Anastase said that the Black Sea region became a EU priority, mainly following Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession. As working for a Euro-Parliament report about the Black Sea region, Mrs. Anastase prompted that the EU German current leadership shows deep interest regarding the region’s development and the European Commission is to set up an actual cooperation plan with the Black Sea countries, at the governmental and at the parliamentary levels as well.



Kazakhstan Proposes Caspian-Black Sea Canal

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed building a canal between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea to ease Central Asian trade with world markets, Radio Free Europe reported earlier this week.

Nazarbayev told participants at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg that such a canal would be 1,000 kilometres shorter than sending goods via Russia's Volga-Don canal network.

He said Central Asia and Caspian states are rich in energy resources but need a range of options to deliver them.

Nazarbayev agreed recently to a plan that envisages the construction of a new pipeline and the modernization of old ones to carry Turkmen and Kazakh natural gas to Russia and on to Europe.

Some Western governments have sought alternative routes for energy shipments that would bypass Russia.



________

*) About BSEC

On 25 June 1992,the Heads of State and Government of eleven countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed in Istanbul the ‘Summit Declaration’ and the ‘Bosphorus Statement’ giving birth to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

It came into existence as a unique and promising model of multilateral political and economic initiative aimed at fostering interaction and harmony among the Member States, as well as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity encouraging friendly and good-neighbouring relations in the Black Sea region.

The BSEC Headquarters - the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) - was established in March 1994 in Istanbul.

With the entry into force of its Charter on 1 May 1999, BSEC acquired international legal identity and was transformed into a full-fledged regional economic organization: ORGANIZATION OF THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION. With the accession of Serbia and Montenegro in April 2004, the Organization’s Member States increased to twelve.

Facts about the BSEC Region:
- BSEC covers a geography encompassing the territories of the Black Sea littoral States, the Balkans and the Caucasus with an area of nearly 20 million square kilometres. The BSEC region is located on two continents;
- BSEC represents a region of some 350 million people with a foreign trade capacity of over USD 300 billion annually;
- After the Persian Gulf region, it is the second-largest source of oil and natural gas along with its rich proven reserves of minerals and metals;
- It is becoming Europe's major transport and energy transfer corridor.

BSEC Member States: Republic of Albania, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, Hellenic Republic, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Republic of Serbia, Republic of Turkey, Ukraine.

BSEC Observers: Republic of Austria, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Croatia, Czech Republic, Arab Republic of Egypt, French Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, State of Israel, Republic of Italy, Republic of Poland, Slovak Republic, Republic of Tunisia, United States of America, International Black Sea Club, Energy Charter Secretariat, and the Black Sea Commission.



Romania Report & sources