Xenophon Paper 2 pdf - ICBSS

cooperation’ in the Strategy Paper, it is not mentioned among the eleven ‘forms of added
value’ that the ENP could take. 9
In the ENP Strategy Paper it is noted that the most important difference in EU policy towards
its Southern and Eastern neighbours is that “in the Mediterranean, an explicit regional
dimension encouraging the development of intra-regional initiatives and cooperation in
a broad range of sectors is included”. By contrast, “encouragement for regional political
cooperation and/or economic integration has not so far formed a strong component of
EU policy towards Russia and the Western NIS”.
The Northern Dimension initiative is mentioned as the only exception to the absence of
a regional dimension to EU policy towards its Eastern neighbours. The Strategy Paper
states that “greater regional cooperation in Eastern Europe will bring substantial
benefits”. 10 Noting that “regional economic cooperation among the Western Newly
Independent States (NIS) is already strong, oriented around traditional flows of trade
and investment to and from Russia”, the Commission suggested in 2003 that “new
initiatives to encourage regional cooperation between Russia and the countries of the
Western NIS might also be considered”. 11 But the EU is not always consistent in its
message, and has been sceptical of recent integration efforts within the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) such as the Single Economic Space (SES).
The future agenda and potential of the BSEC
In terms of economic affairs, the role of the BSEC as an organisation of economic
cooperation is very important. Given the geopolitical location of the region, cooperation
in fields of transport and energy are particularly significant through their potentially great
global impact. The BSEC region at the same time is attractive in fields such as
telecommunications, tourism, agriculture, small and medium business, science and
technology. Furthermore, the role of the BSEC is considerable in fighting organised
crime, international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, illegal trade
of arms and drugs, human trafficking and illegal migration.
The BSEC finds itself at an important juncture in its evolution as a regional organisation.
Originally conceived as an intergovernmental framework designed to identify mutually
shared interests and to foster, on that basis, trade and economic relations through
regional cooperation, the BSEC is currently considering new ways and means of
9 Ibid., pp. 8-9.
10 Ibid., p. 20.
11 Commission of the European Communities (2003), Wider Europe - Neighbourhood: A New Framework for
Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours, COM(2003) 104 final, Brussels, p. 8.
62 UNFOLDING THE BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION VIEWS FROM THE REGION