Regional cooperation in the Black Sea area: Analysis of the opportunities to foster synergies in the region

Following EU enlargement to the East and debates on the Constitutional Treaty, the Black Sea region has received increasing political, public and scholarly attention. This study examines the prospects for and the forms of economic, sectoral/thematic and political cooperation in the area from the perspective of the EU as well as of the local actors. The macroeconomic situation in the region is analysed as a major factor for commercial and economic cooperation. The complex network of existing trade agreements is set in the context of national trade policies and the common commercial policy of the EU. Special attention is given to EU support for trade liberalisation and regional economic integration around the Black Sea. Three specific facets of regional cooperation are considered – transportation and infrastructure development, cooperation among local and regional authorities and the initiative of creating a Black Sea Euro-region, and the modalities of inter-parliamentary cooperation.