Xenophon Paper 2 pdf - ICBSS

PREFACE
What have been the main policy concerns of the countries of the Black Sea region when
joining a regional structure such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)? This
is the main question that this edited volume of the Xenophon Paper series deals with.
As the Organisation of the BSEC has reached its fifteenth Anniversary it is of value to
identify common stands along with diversified views on the priorities of Black Sea
cooperation as seen by experts coming from within the region. In devising a future
strategy for the BSEC, in particular, but also in assessing the prospects of regional
cooperation in any area of the world it is imperative to identify the main concerns of the
local players and stakeholders.
The International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), being the think tank of the
Organisation of the BSEC, launched a series of publications with a view to celebrate the
occasion of the 15 th Anniversary of the BSEC and more important to open a window to
the needs, priorities and concerns of the regional states. The publication at hand is the
third one on the occasion of BSEC at Fifteen following the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation: Fifteen Years of Regional Activity, 1992-2007 Views by Foreign Ministers
and Heads of BSEC Institutions (2007) and The BSEC At Fifteen: Key Documents, 1992-
2007 (2007).
The views expressed herein by experts in their personal capacity disclose both the
variety of angles from which the regional countries approach multilateral cooperation
in the area and the common denominator upon which the Black Sea regionalism is
taking shape.
We hope that this publication is to be proven useful not only to the research community
but also to the policy-makers both in the Black Sea region and beyond.
Dimitrios Triantaphyllou
Athens, July 2007
X E N O P H O N P A P E R no 2 5