Pontic Dimension adds weight to EU’s eastward focus

Each new wave of EU enlargement brings a new dimension to the Union’s foreign policy. Whereas the Finns and the Swedes brought a ‘Northern Dimension’ and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania strengthened the ‘Baltic Dimension’, the Black Sea is to become the next feature of EU foreign policy, following Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Union.

According to Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Ra?vzan Ungureanu, the two new countries will bring a so-called Pontic Dimension - a reference to Pontus Euxinus (hospitable sea), the name given by the Romans to the Black Sea.

The two newcomers are seeking to highlight the importance of the Black Sea to the Union’s security and energy interests. Romania and Bulgaria’s interest in giving the region a more prominent role coincides with plans by the German presidency to boost relations with neighbouring countries. Berlin has announced that it will reinforce the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), creating an Ostpolitik for the EU.

Romania will be particularly keen to make its views on the subject known. Promoting more EU engagement in the Black Sea region is one of the government’s priorities. President Traian Basescu, a former navy captain, has professed his personal interest in developing EU policy towards the region.

Romania’s desire to strengthen the ENP touches upon its support for further enlargement of the EU. Both Romania and Bulgaria strongly back the accession of the western Balkan countries to the EU. And Romania wishes to see Moldova, with which it has strong cultural and linguistic ties, become a member of the EU.

"[The] ENP cannot be a substitute for enlargement, but could be envisaged as a starting point," Ungureanu recently remarked.

Bulgaria, too, has focused on the positives of future enlargement rather than the institutional difficulties entailed or the repercussions for the European project.

Bulgarian and Romanian accession could shift the balance of power in the Council of Ministers towards those countries which favour a substantially deeper ENP and one that leaves the door for the accession of Moldova and Ukraine wide open.

Pressure will increase on the EU to ease its restrictions on Moldovans and Balkan citizens trading with the Union and visiting the now 27 member states.

Romania’s membership is also likely to increase the pressure on the EU to solve the dispute between Moldova and Russia over Transdniestria - the breakaway Moldovan republic that Moscow props up. So far Russia’s refusal to withdraw its troops from Moldovan territory has made a deal impossible.

Bulgaria has signalled it will be looking to influence the EU’s policy toward its southern neighbours.

Sergei Stanishev, Bulgaria’s prime minister, has recently been playing up his country’s ability to inform EU thinking on the Balkans. Stanishev has frequently described his country as a neutral actor in the region as well as a stabilising factor. His government has so far backed the EU’s policies toward the region.

But Romania has stronger views on the Balkans, particularly on how to stop Serbia sliding out of the EU’s orbit and on the future of Kosovo.

Romania is already vocal in its solidarity with Serbia’s position on Kosovo, rejecting Kosovo’s outright independence and a solution imposed by the international community.

Each new wave of EU enlargement brings a new dimension to the Union’s foreign policy. Whereas the Finns and the Swedes brought a ‘Northern Dimension’ and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania strengthened the ‘Baltic Dimension’, the Black Sea is to become the next feature of EU foreign policy, following Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Union.