EU must help the heterogeneous countries along the Black Sea coasts to find ways to guarantee and strengthen peace, without leaving aside issues such as human rights and fundamental freedoms, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht stated. De Gucht hosted the event, organised by CEVIPOL – Centre d'étude de la vie politique (ULB) and the Embassy of Bulgaria. He stressed that the EU is the "impartial party" which could streamline existing initiatives, which sometimes overlap.
Energy security as central issue
Strategic thinking about the future of the Black Sea is shaped by security concerns, especially energy security, several participants stressed. Threats such as terrorism, transnational organised crime, the "frozen conflicts" of Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh, illegal trafficking and migration should not be underestimated, participants stressed.
With the Black Sea becoming adjacent to the EU with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, the EU can involve its new neighbours in addressing the problems, including candidate country Turkey, the countries covered by the European neighbourhood Policy (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova).
Academics more sceptical than diplomats
Academics who took part to the debate expressed the view that most of the Black Sea initiatives seem to be made by and designed for the diplomatic elite. Often so-called international initiatives are born to suit ambitions for regional leadership, while the civil societies are not even aware of them and remain forgotten.
Scientists questioned whether the Black Sea region was indeed a region, compared to other regions like Scandinavia, which always had such a statute. Several speakers considered that in fact the Black Sea region is "more a matter of politics than geography".
