black sea

THE THE PARTICIPATION PARTICIPATION OF OF ROMANIA
ROMANIA
AND AND GREECE GREECE AT AT BSEC
BSEC
COOPERATION COOPERATION THEORY THEORY AND
AND
PRACTICE PRACTICE IN IN THE THE BALKANS
BALKANS
{ERBAN {ERBAN FILIP FILIP CIOCULESCU
CIOCULESCU
Researcher Researcher Researcher Researcher Researcher of of of of of the the the the the Institute Institute Institute Institute Institute for for for for for Political Political Political Political Political Studies Studies Studies Studies Studies of of of of of Defense Defense Defense Defense Defense
and and and and and Military Military Military Military Military History History History History History
During the Cold War era, the Black Sea has
been a Soviet lake with a strategic “clasp” provided
by Turkish control on the Straits. After the end of
the bipolar rivalry, the existing riparian states and
the newly independent ones felt the need to set up
an institutional framework, in order to go beyond
the classical “neorealist” (using International
Relations theory vocabulary) zero-sum game for
power and security maximization. They wanted to
(re)invent the logic of cooperation and mutual trust,
and create a common understanding of the new
security environment characterized by globalization
and regionalization. More precisely, they
wanted a better mutual understanding and confidence,
a safe politic and economic climate and
good neighborly relations.
Therefore, the Organization of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) has been created
June 1992 as an informal intergovernmental
framework for promoting trade and economic
cooperation in this area and was lately turned into
an international economic organization on 1 May
1999, following the coming into force of its Charter
signed in June 1998 in Yalta, when it received legal
identity on the international scene. It became a
tool for multilateral cooperation, knew the
institutional spectacular development and quickly
specialized in “soft security” issues: economy, trade,
environment, culture, science etc. 1 Worth to
remember that the Istanbul Summit Declaration
from June 25, 1992, a kind of birth-certificate for
the new organization, stipulated that it main goal
“is to ensure that the Black Sea becomes a sea of
peace, stability and prosperity, striving to promote
friendly and good-neighborly relations” among the
region’s states. 2
BSEC is important especially because it covers
a huge territory encompassing the areas of the
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Black Sea littoral states, the Balkans and the
Caucasus, with an area of nearly 20 million square
kilometers. The BSEC-covered region is located
on two continents: Europe and Asia. 3 Demographically,
BSEC represents a region of about 350
million people and a foreign trade capacity of over
USD 300 billion annually. Analysts noted that after
2000, the BSEC countries had the fastest economic
growth in the world, with 6% GDP increase and a
growing rhythm 3,5 times bigger than that of the
Euro zone. 4 In 2006, the foreign direct investments
was 72 billion USD. After the Persian Gulf region,
it is the second-largest source of oil and natural
gas along with its rich proven reserves of minerals
and metals. It is becoming Europe’s major transport
and energy transfer corridor, as the Greater Black
Sea Area is a transit space for the oil and gas
coming from Central Asia and the Caspian basin.
Certainly, Greece and Romania are among the
main countries benefiting from the economic rise
of this region. Even in Romania exports more than
65% of its goods in the EU states, there are at least
20% of its exports going to the Black Sea region. At
the same time, the number of commercial
transactions between BSEC countries and Greece
almost quadrupled between 1992 and 2003, and is
continuing to increase rapidly. 5 They have a
common interest in the development of a regional
wide market and regional infrastructures.
Romania has been, since the beginning, an
enthusiastic supporter of the Turkish initiative for
setting up BSEC and the first session of the working
group which put the basis for the new organization
held its consultations in Bucharest in 1991.
The BSEC has its headquarters in Istanbul and
is made up of 13 member states: Albania, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic
of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, the Russian
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