The European Parliament adopted a resolution on an EU Strategy for the Black Sea.
Parliament recalls that the Black Sea region comprises the EU Member States Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, the candidate country Turkey and the ENP partners Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, as well as the Russian Federation as a strategic partner. It recalls that the Black Sea region is of geo-strategic importance for the energy security of the EU.
The committee considers that, given the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for the EU and the rather limited results of the BSS, a strategy should be launched to enhance the coherence and visibility of EU action in the region and that the EU Black Sea Strategy should be an integral part of the EU's broader foreign and security policy vision. This Strategy should take the form of an integrated and comprehensive EU approach with a detailed action plan, clear objectives, flagship initiatives and benchmarks. Regular reviews of the implementation of the strategy should be carried out and the relevant European Parliament committees should be consulted at key stages of this process.
Parliament recommends that consistency between EU-level policy and the national strategies of the EU Member States in the Black Sea region needs to be ensured. EU Member States must agree on clear priorities in order that a realistic and financially sound action plan can subsequently be drawn up, together with a corresponding system for assessing its effectiveness. In parallel, Members call for a Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme to be drawn up for the next programming period in order fully to address and continue the efforts to achieve all the objectives stated in the ENPI CBC Strategy Paper 2007-2013.
Objectives of the Strategy: Parliament stresses that the main objective pursued by the EU and the Member States in the EU Strategy for the Black Sea Region should be to establish an area of peace, democracy, prosperity and stability, founded on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and providing for EU energy security. It considers that good governance, the rule of law, promotion of respect of human rights, migration management, energy, transport, the environment, and economic and social development should constitute priority actions.
Appropriate funding: Parliament is convinced that the success of the strategy depends on the provision of appropriate and identifiable funding. It calls for the creation of a specific budget line for the Black Sea Strategy, and for the development of efficient disbursement methods, tailored to the specific characteristics of the region, and controls on the use of the funds. The resolution encourages priority financing of small-scale development projects and stresses the need for a project-based approach with a view to including local authorities, business communities, NGOs or other civil society organisations.
It encourages the development of synergies between the various Union policies that come into play in the Strategy, particularly the Structural Funds, the Research and Development Framework Programme and the Trans-European Transport Networks, in order to ensure the sustainability of the actions financed; in that way opportunities created by one economic development initiative can be taken up by another, complementary initiative.
Adequate human resources: Parliament stresses that adequate human resources must be devoted to the task of achieving the objectives of the new strategy, particularly by taking visible account of that strategy in the organisational structure and staffing of the EEAS.
Partnerships: Parliament regards inclusiveness and regional ownership as important principles of the EU approach towards the region and sees Turkey and Russia as partners which should ideally be properly involved in Black Sea regional cooperation. It believes that the dual role of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece as both riparian states and EU Member States is essential to the success of EU policy in the Black Sea region.
In order to provide visibility, strategic guidance and high-level coordination, ministerial meetings between the EU and the wider Black Sea region countries should be organised on a regular basis.
Deploring the fact that the Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and Partnership has been adversely affected by regional tensions and, as a result, has not yet been established, Parliament considers that such a Forum could play a role in generating ideas and fostering dialogue among regional actors. Welcoming the creation of the Black Sea Civil Society Forum, Parliament underlines the role of the non-governmental sector in ensuring both the effective implementation of the Strategy.
Complementarity with other initiatives: Parliament stresses the complementary nature of the Strategy and the Eastern Partnership, and it calls on the Commission to make positive use of the differing approaches of the two initiatives. Parliament also welcomes the development of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, which is to be completed by the end of 2011.
Security and good governance: the resolution focuses on security issues in this region and underlines the protracted conflicts, displaced populations, bilateral disputes, closed borders and strategic rivalries leading to militarisation and proliferation of arms, weak institutions and governance and the deterioration of democratic rule, cross-border crime and trafficking, etc. Members stress the vital importance of establishing, encouraging and developing good-neighbourly relations between the Black Sea countries as a premise for successful cooperation, and regard it as unacceptable that the region should still be facing the problem of closed borders between neighbours.
Recalling that the EU can and should play a more active role in shaping the Black Sea security environment, Members call for enhanced EU involvement in regional strategic dialogue, and EU cooperation with its strategic partners on security issues and on conflict prevention and resolution. They call on the Vice-President/High Representative of the Union to step up efforts to encourage Russia to comply with the six-point Sarkozy Plan to stabilise and resolve the conflict in Georgia.
The resolution underlines the need to:
- develop an early-warning system as a conflict-prevention and confidence-building tool in the Black Sea region, to avoid destabilisation and conflict-escalation;
- establish a regional legal framework and mechanisms to deal with the proliferation of arms in the Black Sea region;
- call for cross-border crime and trafficking, in particular in drugs and human beings, and illegal migration to be tackled in the Black Sea Strategy;
- improve management of migration in and from the Black Sea;
- use the Integrated Maritime Policy to coordinate search-and-rescue and accident-prevention activities in the Black Sea region;
- establish a Black Sea surveillance strategy;
- improve governance, democratic rule, respect for human rights and state capabilities;
- increase respect for human rights and democracy in occupied South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Parliament expresses particular concern at the extension of the port agreement for Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea and its possible impact on stability in the region.
Energy, transport and the environment: Parliament considers, on the one hand, the Black Sea region to be of strategic importance for EU energy security and the diversification of the EU's energy supply. It reiterates the pressing importance of a coherent strategy for the Black Sea region. On the other hand, it considerscooperation in the areas of energy, transport and the environment to be crucial to the harmonious and sustainable development of the region.
The resolution emphasises the need to strengthen multilateral energy cooperation in the Black Sea region, for which the WTO and the Energy Charter Treaty provide the key principles. It supports full market and regulatory integration on the basis of EU energy and environment legislation and encourages the participation of countries in the wider Black Sea region in the Energy Community Treaty and EU, EIB and EBRD assistance for the modernisation of energy infrastructure in the Black Sea region. It also emphasises the importance of Member States taking a common approach towards the Black Sea region, with a view to achieving the EU’s long-term objective of security of energy supply and stability in its neighbourhood.
Parliament recalls the need for more vigorous action by the Commission in support of measures to diversify gas supply and for a common normative framework to promote a transparent, competitive and rules-based gas market. It reiterates the importance of the Southern Corridor projects, in particular the fundamental importance to Europe's energy security of the EU strategic priority project Nabucco and of its swift realisation and stresses the significance of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transportation to Europe, in the form of the AGRI project and the development of LNG terminals in Black Sea ports, and of the Constanta-Trieste Pan-European Oil Pipeline. The Commission is urged to conclude agreements with the potential supplier countries for the Nabucco pipeline by the end of 2011. The resolution emphasises the potential offered by renewable energy sources in the Black Sea region, which could make a major contribution to a secure energy future at global level and to sustainable economic growth, and calls on the Commission and the Black Sea riparian countries to unlock this potential.
Parliament considers that, for the purposes of international trade and the transport of hydrocarbons in the region, it is essential to develop the EU’s Black Sea and maritime Danube ports, including oil and gas terminals and intermodal transport infrastructure. It calls on the Commission and Member States to expedite the completion of priority trans-European transport projects and their progressive assimilation with the TRACECA corridor. It calls on the Black Sea riparian states to conclude a memorandum of understanding on the development of Black Sea maritime corridors and asks the Commission to open a TEN-T budget line with funding for Black Sea maritime corridors similar to those which already exist for the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Mediterranean Sea maritime corridors.
On an environmental note, Parliament emphasises the need for a balance to be struck between economic development and environmental protection. It calls on the Commission to prioritise the requirements of energy efficiency and protection of the environment and climate when funding infrastructure projects. Efforts are also called for as regards the management of sustainable fisheries.
Economic, social and human development: pointing out that the region has extraordinary natural resources which can encourage rapid economic growth, Parliament believes that the economic, social and human development of the region as a whole should be promoted by: (i) a further liberalisation of trade and the intensification of intra-regional trade; (ii) combating fraud and corruption; (iii) emphasising the importance of cooperation in the field of tourism and of port and coastline development.
In favour of an amendment adopted in plenary, Parliament underlines that the EU should play a greater role in the Black Sea region by offering the countries in the region more prospects for closer integration with the EU. Parliament stresses that opportunities for trade liberalisation and the creation of a free trade area in accordance with WTO principles should be carefully considered.
Recognising that the global financial crisis has hit the Black Sea region hard, bringing both a period of growth averaging 6% per annum, Members emphasise that this needs to be addressed by strengthening financial and banking regulations, improving fiscal credibility and transparency, fighting tax fraud, tax evasion and corruption, intensifying regional cooperation and enhancing coordination among regional organisations such as the BSEC. Cross-border cooperation should also be strengthened.
Lastly, Parliament regards the importance of improving the administrative capacity of all local and regional stakeholders in the Black Sea region as well as the importance of visa facilitation and the mobility of persons in the region (in particular for businessmen, academics, young people, local officials, etc).