The EU and sub-regional multilateralism in Europe’s sea basins: Neighbourhood, Enlargement and Multilateral Cooperation. An FP7 collaborative research project (2009-2011) conducting an analysis of sub-regional multilateralism in the four maritime basins (Baltic, Black, Caspian and Mediterranean).
Organised by: International Centre of Black Sea Studies
Building on two years of success, the International
Black Sea Symposium (IBSS) project continues in 2010 with the 3rd
International Black Sea Symposium on “The Black Sea Region in Flux”.
From 29 June to 4 July 2010 the International Centre for Black Sea
Studies (ICBSS) will welcome young professionals and international
experts on the island of Aegina, Greece, for an intensive course on
Black Sea issues. The event’s working language will be English.
The
3rd IBSS enjoys the support of the following partners and sponsors:
Bertelsmann Stiftung;� the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a
project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States; Economic
Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV); EU - Russia Centre;
Harvard Black Sea Security Program; The Hellenic Observatory, London
School of Economics; Institute for Regional and International Studies,
Sofia; International Relations Council of Turkey; Kadir Has University;
Open Ukraine Foundation; Postgraduate Programme on “Political, Economic
and International Relations in the Mediterranean”, Department of
Mediterranean Studies, University of the Aegean; and the U.S. Embassy
in Athens.
A seminar bringing together experts (both members and non members of
the partnership) and practitioners from all four basins. The seminar will address
the impact
of the ENP and other EU initiatives on the free trade areas and the free movement of people within the four
sea basins (Kyiv, 9th-10th
June, 2010)
Presentation Sessions of EU4SEAS results in the Baltic, Intermediterraneanm Black Sea
and Balkans commissions of the CPMR at the 38th General Assembly.The project will contrast its findings with practitioners in order to refine their policy recommendations for the European Commission.
Ankara, January 2010. Energy and Transport Cooperation
"The importance of thinking the unthinkable in energy and transport issues"
The International seminar
on Energy and Transport Co-operation in Europe's four sea basins organized by
the Center of European Studies at the Middle East Technical University (CES-METU) was held in Ankara on January 21st and 22nd. The event was attended by numerous researchers and officials from sub-regional initiatives. Among which TRANSPORT CORRIDOR EUROPE-CAUCASUS-ASIA (TRACECA); Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) and sub-regional projects (Baltic Gateway, Transbaltic) took part for transport issues. The Observatoire Mediterranéen de l'Energie and the White Stream Consortium also participated.
Atila Eralp, director of CES-METU, stressed the necessity of understanding the problems in the 4 seas and fostering the channels of effective multilateralism in these regions. He also emphasized the diving effect of pipelines and transport routes rather than connecting the countries in the region.
Michele Villani, Head, Trade Economy and Agriculture section at the EU Delegation to Turkey drew attentioni to the interlinked relationship between climate change, energy supplies and energy security. He also emphasized the importance to act on climate change and the infrastructural problems in the 4 seas. As in the past projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan or Durran Farrell pipelines were visionary when they were planned, the EU needs", he added, "to think the unthinkable in energy and transport issues".
Energy
and transport both play a strategic role in the four seas on which we centre
our analysis: tensions between stakeholders often focus on the Baltic, the
Mediterranean, the Black and Caspian seas. All four areas are of great
importance for the EU and the routes, be they maritime or pipelines, through
which oil and gas travels from the producing to the consuming countries are
often the subject of tension.
Reykjavik, May 2009. Environmental and Maritime cooperation
The International seminar
on Environmental and Maritime Issues in Europe's four sea basins organized by
the Institute of International Affairs and
Centre for Small State
Studies at the University
of Iceland was held in Rekjavik on May 27th and 28th. The rich programme of the conference joined experts, officials and practitioners.
The aim of the seminar was to provide an inside look of multilateral co-operation (notion and practice) in the four maritime basins (Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and Caspian). The discussions addressed the following topics:
sub-regional conventions;
management of borders and safety of the maritime space;
Rome, April 2009. Political and Security Cooperation
The International seminar
on Political and Security cooperation in Europe’s four Sea Basins, organized by
the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) took place in Rome on April 3rd and 4th and was
the second event of the EU4SEAS project, supported by the 7th Framework
Programme of the European Commission.
The seminar aimed to assess the role and
impact in the political and security fields of sub-regional actors and organizations
in the four sea basins. Also, it evaluated whether the EU, as well as NATO and
other international organizations reinforce security cooperation at the
sub-regional level. In fact, while the EU has always been keen on promoting
regional and sub-regional multilateralism, proposing itself as a sort of
model of such kind of cooperation, its strategies and policies have not always
been consistent with that aim.
The seminar
brought together international experts, officials and practitioners (see
programme below) and provided debates/discussions about defining security
agendas in the four sea Basin (Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas),
cooperation between the sub-regional organizations on conflict resolution
issues
Barcelona, January 2009 .The EU and sub-regional multilateralism
Habib Ben-Yahia: "Only the bilateral dimension cannot deal with global problems"
International
seminar on "The EU and sub-regional multilateralism", organized by CIDOB
Foundation, took place in Barcelona
on January 28th and 29th. It was the kick off event of
EU4seas project.
Jordi Vaquer, Project
Coordinator and Director of CIDOB Foundation, introduced the research programme and methodology for the
three-year project.
Angela Liberatore, European
Commission DG Research, congratulated the panellists and the audience for
fruitful discussions. Pleased to see the actual start of a project. Starting
with teams with eight different countries in EU and larger Europe,
and with interdisciplinary expertise and capacity. She
added that it was a success to see how the project took the idea from the start
that research should be a dialogue with policy making and practitioners.
EU4SEAS will address the topic of “multilateralism,
the new external relations of the EU” in the broad analysis of what is the role
of “Europe in the world”. She pointed out how
important the Commission considers the open access of the results. The project
will share its conclusions in a final Conference with the other two projects
involved in multilateralism, EUGRASP and MERCURY. She
stressed that the project may contribute to a better understanding the
multilateralism as “one of options to have constructive relations with its
partners” and find out the way to make it more effective.
Habib Ben-Yahia, general secretary of the
Union of Arab Maghreb, a diplomatic with a vast experience in Foreign Affairs
in Tunisia
where he served as minister (1991-97, 1999-2004) stressed the importance of
multilateralism to deal with world changes. He claimed for a more ambitious and
in some way visionary thinking (“the
Dreams Department”) in Diplomacy to overcome the conflicts and political
obstacles for cooperation. He added that the normal way of relation, the
bilateral dimension, cannot deal with crisis that should be dealt with collectivelly.
The open-up session was followed by a two-day intensive conference about the perspectives and future trends in multilateralism around Europe's four sea basins.
A seminar bringing together experts (both members and non members of
the partnership) and practitioners from all four basins. The seminar will address
the impact
of the ENP and other EU initiatives on the free trade areas and the free movement of people within the four
sea basins (Kyiv, 9th-10th
June, 2010)
EU4SEAS_ energy_programme
The International seminar
on Environmental and Maritime Issues in Europe's four sea basins organized by
