Xenophon Paper 2 pdf - ICBSS

THE POLICY OF MOLDOVA TOWARDS THE
BLACK SEA REGION AND THE BSEC
Igor Munteanu
Background
The dismantling of the Pax-sovietica, political liberalisation and the creation of new
independent states absorbed most of the political energy across the Black Sea region.
The post-cold war transition was thus the main driver of change in the region. Not less
important were the critical issues that challenged Turkey and Russia. With the collapse
of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia was desperately in search
for a new identity, while the Turkish model of secular modernisation had reached a
certain impasse by end of the 1990s. 1 In Turkey, this offered a strong incentive to some
Turkish officials who mobilised themselves towards a vast and inclusive engagement
in the Black Sea. An intrinsic formalisation of this project involved coastal and riparian
Black Sea states and received its conceptual underpinning at the Istanbul Summit, in
1992, with a the Bosporus Statement and Summit Declaration. 2
Created on 25 June 1992, the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) concept inherited the founder’s concerns to respond to the changing international,
European and Eurasian security climates. 3 The Statement emphasised‚ the need for
the peaceful settlement of all disputes, and suggested that partnership, rule-of-law and
respect for human rights will contribute to the future architecture of Europe, and facilitate
European integration. It further envisioned the need to promote economic cooperation
and strengthen peace and stability in the region. Its strategic ambition aimed to enhance
a new level of multilateral support and cooperation in a wide variety of fields, such as:
energy, institution building, and good governance; trade and economic development;
transport; tourism; environmental protection; combating organised crime, science and
technology. This approach illustrates a positive regionalism from below, deriving from
an almost natural, historically bound, revitalised and advanced regional ‘heritage of
interests’. But, the re-vitalisation of the Black Sea region in geopolitical and geo-economics
terms poses critical issues to be addressed by the BSEC members. The regional
1 Onis, Ziya (2004), ‘Turkish Modernisation and Challenges for the New Europe’, Perceptions, Autumn, pp.6-21.
2 BSEC PERMIS (1995), ‘Bosphorus Statement’ and ‘Summit Declaration’, BSEC Handbook of Documents, vol.
1, Istanbul, July, pp. 9,3.
3 Muftuler-Bac, Melten (1997), Turkey’s Relations with a Changing Europe, Manchester University Press, Manchester
and New York, p.44.
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