Xenophon Paper 2 pdf - ICBSS

Ministers. This does not address however core or ‘hard’ security threats experienced
by some of the BSEC members which are confronted with armed and ‘frozen’ conflicts,
as well as further non-conventional perils to their security. Once some form of solution
for effectively containing these kinds of threats is established, will constructive regionalism
in the area become fully functional.
The aims of the BSEC are to develop trade, economic, scientific and environmental
cooperation on the basis of geographic proximity, common threats, as well as individual
aspirations. The Organisation operates via five inter-active blocs: inter-governmental, interparliamentary,
inter-business, inter-finance and inter-academic. This caleidoscopical
multi-dimensional design creates a lot of synergies, plans, actions and documents,
which are not easy to manage sometimes. Therefore, institutional complexity is obviously
a difficulty facing the founding members. At the inter-governmental level, a Council of
Foreign Ministers acts in charge of the overall cooperation process of the Organisation,
having ultimate decision-power. At the inter-parliamentary level, a Parliamentary Assembly
operates through the work of national groups (representing 11 national parliaments),
in providing a consistent support in legislative and regulatory matters to the BSEC, and
engaging the PERMIS in a sort of intra-institutional complementarities.
Private sector initiatives are included in the work of the Business Council, managed by
a Secretary General and a Board of Directors, chairing business fora as interactive
activities to guide on business oriented and joint venture steps. A Black Sea Trade and
Development Bank (BSTDB) was established in March 1998, as the financial pillar of the
organisation (from its location in Thessaloniki). The bank is a commercial entity, following
private banking norms, created from initial capital quotas assigned to member states
with a special scale. It aims to finance bankable projects of the region and cultivate
channels of investment flows by developing active relations with international banking
and financial circles. Finally, at the interacademic level a Network of Black Sea Universities
brings together scientists, scholars, researchers, academicians and representatives
from various institutions of the member states, promoting inter-cultural exchanges,
scientific, technological and intellectual resources of the concerned countries.
Often, however, this approach mobilises the attention of the member states towards
very broad areas of intervention, economic and political actions, without pointing out
a logical sequence of priorities. The commentary on the sectoral policy headings often
does not distinguish between national policies and specifically regional projects,
where the BSEC could provide an added value and a comparative advantage. There
are no concrete commitments and a timetable of implementation is not included,
therefore, the Agenda remaining rather a document of general orientation. No
implementation procedures, financing instruments or follow-up mechanisms are set
up and function. Equally, there is a visible lack of clarity in defining the priorities of
the Organisation and an extremely poor capacity to implement the approved decisions
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