Paris, 5 June 2008 – The Assembly announced on Thursday that it wants to invite all parliaments of the Black Sea coastal states and neighbouring countries of the region which are not members of the Assembly to become “partners”, so that this part of the world enters fully into its area of responsibility.

Introducing a report on behalf of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations, Mr Hendrik Daems (Belgium, Liberal Group) told his audience that the Black Sea was an area of major strategic interest, particularly in terms of Europe’s energy supplies. The Black Sea region had become one of Europe’s priorities he claimed, pointing to the environmental and pollution risks from which the region suffered. He also expressed concern over the threats presented by corruption, fraud and illegal trafficking of all kinds and the rise of religious extremism.

The Assembly called on its Presidential Committee to put forward a Protocol of agreement defining arrangements for cooperation between it and its Black Sea counterpart, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Cooperation (PABSEC), to enable the two organisations to work in synergy on areas of shared interest.

Cooperation between the Black Sea states through different initiatives has been building for some time. The main focus of interest as far as these countries are concerned is their long-awaited transition to democracy, human rights protection and economic development. Organisations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (ODED) and the Commonwealth of Democratic Choice (CDC) to mention but a few are all contributing to making those goals a reality, as the report explains. The European Union now borders on the Black Sea and is therefore directly concerned by the politics of the region. It plays a key role there through its European Neighbourhood Policy and European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. The Black Sea Synergy initiative also encourages cooperation between Europe and the countries of the wider Black Sea region, but EU programmes are already running into difficulties over funding.

Other problems arise in the neighbouring Caucasus region which is racked by conflicting nationalist ambitions and clashes of religion and ideology, myriad forms of illegal trafficking and terrorism. The Turkish-led BLACKSEAFOR (Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group) in which Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine also participate, and Operation Black Sea Harmony (OBSH), also initiated by Turkey, which has some similarities with the NATO operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean, are indicative of the emergence of a security strategy in the region. The report seeks to define the parameters of a new awareness of the political scope of the Assembly, made necessary by radical changes in the geopolitical landscape.