Regional Cooperation in the Black Sea area

Being strategically located at the junction of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, having a large population as well as vast natural resources, the Black Sea area brings together a variety of cultures, civilizations and traditions so that this area faces a number of opportunities and challenges for its citizens.

The EU has initiated major efforts to stimulate economic and political reform through wide- ranging cooperation programmes, such as the Pre-Accession Instrument, the European Neighborhood Policy, the Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership.

The Council of Europe, and in particular the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, have also run many projects in the Black Sea, and helped the creation of the Black Sea Euroregion. Despite positive developments over the last years, however, significant challenges in key sectors such as environment, energy, or tourism remain, that require coordinated responses from the regional level.

POLICY

The EU has developed a programme, “EU Black Sea Synergy" with a number of concrete initiatives looking at areas like transport, energy, the environment, maritime management, fisheries, migration, and the fight against organised crime, the information society and cultural cooperation.

PROJECTS

The EU has also established a new cross-border cooperation programme - Black Sea Basin Joint Operational Programme 2007-2013 - involving various stakeholders, including local authorities in the countries around the Black Sea, and supporting the activities of civil society organisations. AER is keen on raising awareness on this programme among its partners and to develop joint projects.

The Fifth Newsletter of the Joint Operational Programme "Black Sea Basin 2007-2013" has been published.

The highlights of the newsletter are:

1- Current Status of the Programme
2- Events in the Framework of the Second Call
3- The Joint Technical Secretariat
4- Second Call for Proposals Highlights
5- Useful Programme Tools
6- Upcoming Events

The newsletter may also be downloaded from here.