1 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE The Black Sea Region: New Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation 14/15 May 2009 Südosteuropa Gesellschaft Berlin, Representation of Bremen

2 “ The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Structure of the Presentation: i.Part I: Brief assessment of the ENP; developments in the Black Sea region (BSR) ii.Part II: Key features and achievements of the Black Sea Synergy (BSS); potential contribution of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) iii.Part III: Setbacks and pending issues of the BSS and EaP iv.Part IV: The ‘Way Forward’ – Key proposals International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

3 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Part I: Historical Account During the 1990s and until 2004: EU’s foreign policy: membership/non membership dilemma EU’s involvement: economic cooperation and technical assistance Lack of institutional mechanisms and of political will/ unity Black Sea: too far away and too messy for the EU; too close and important for Russia and Turkey International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

4 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” 2004 – Turning Point, Paradigm Shift: EU: Victim of its ‘enlargement success’ Launching of the ENP:A catch-all approach; build a ‘ring of friends’; “give everything but the institutions”; blur the boundary between being ‘in’ and ‘out’ ENP: Neither enlargement nor foreign policy; imbalance between ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’; rather unclear end-game International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

5 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” The Eastern Wing of the ENP BSR caught in a proximity/distance paradox EU’s policy characterised by a ‘Russia-first’ approach Institutional paralysis: weak CFSP, divisions among the m-s; conflicting national priorities Target countries of the region far from satisfied with the rationale of the ENP International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

6 “ The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Part II: BSS and EaP – Key Achievements, Contribution 1. The BSS (regional track) : BSR on the radar screen of the EU as a single distinct policy area Inclusiveness Promotion of regional cooperation between the EU and the region but also within the region; local ownership Solving problems which require region-wide efforts; project oriented character ‘Europeanisation Process’ International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

7 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” 2. The EaP (bilateral and multilateral track): i.Flexibility; tailored to each partner’s needs and capacity; differentiation (“…taking into account the specific situation and ambition for each partner country”, Joint Declaration, para. 4) ii.Increased funding iii.Stronger channels of communication iv.More coherent group of countries v.Political Backing by some m-s; also reaction to UfM vi.Strong incentives: FTA, Visa facilitation (long term goal) vii.Quasi pre-accession strategy document International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

8 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Part III: Setbacks and Obstacles i.Insufficient leadership capacities ii.EC: modest input in terms of administrative and financial resources iii.EU: rather hesitant and divided vis-à-vis Russia iv.EaP: Confusion about the balance between bilateral and multilateral components v.EaP: EaP countries start from different bases vi.BSS and EaP: Overlap, esp. in energy issues, visa International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

9 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Open/Pending Issues Division of labour Allocation and distribution of funding Limited (institutional and financial) resources Need for coordination International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

10 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Part IV: The Way Forward Pragmatism Coordination Ownership Flexibility Consistency Visibility International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

11 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” Key elements/notions: Harmonisation Balance Redefinition of the (strategic) relationship between the EU and Russia and its eastern partners A Coordination Mechanism for the BSS and the EaP International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

12 “The Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership: Complementarity or Confusing Signals?” The implementation of the BSS and the EaP depends on the: Firm willingness of the EU and its m-s to move forward Alignment of the relevant EU policies; parallel management of the relations EU-Russia, EU-Turkey Engagement of the Russian Federation Efficient involvement of the three EU Black Sea states in promoting synergies Coordinated and improved performance of all the regional stakeholders International Conference, Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 15 May 2009

13 Thank you for your attention!