RIDING WAVES OF COOPERATION

Regional intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations operating around the globe—including across Eurasia—constitute an integral part of the international relations system, varying considerably in their nature, objectives, structure, resources, and a host of other parameters.

When it comes to intergovernmental organisations bringing together neighbouring states, they tend to share a number of common features: more often than not, their declared goals revolve around fostering prosperity and sustainable development through mutually beneficial cooperation across arange of sectors. Constructive engagement between regional international organisations (RIOs), coupled with enhanced effectiveness in their operations, could serve as an instrument for renewing the international architecture—provided, of course, that any attempts to exploit RIOs for confrontational purposes are firmly ruled out.

A particularly stable and multifunctional regional structure, uniting countries located in a unique region that has for millennia served as a bridge between Europe and Asia, is the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

Over the past three decades since the signing of the Istanbul Declaration and the Bosphorus Statement by the eleven Heads of State on June 25, 1992—which laid the foundation for multilateral cooperation among the Black Sea nations—the BSEC has evolved from an intergovernmental initiative into a fully-fledged international organisation. Its experience offers valuable lessons for providing interstate cooperation and refining the international architecture. Russia, as a founding member of the BSEC, has made a substantial contribution to its activities.

The Organisation has pursued an expansive approach to cooperation, encompassing a broad spectrum of areas such as economy (trade, finance, investment, information exchange, SME support), infrastructure, and sector-specific collaboration (energy, transport, ICT, agriculture, tourism), as well as environmental protection and the social sphere (science, education, healthcare). Cooperation also extends to emergency response and organised crime.

In institutional terms, an extensive framework has been established. Beyond the core BSEC structure— which comprises intergovernmental bodies, 22 expert working groups, and a permanent secretariat—it includes the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), the Business Council, and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS). Its legal framework includes the Charter and internal regulations, supplemented by a number of sector-oriented intergovernmental agreements and protocols. Dialogue mechanisms within BSEC operate at both expert and political levels, including regular sessions of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and sectoral ministerial meetings.

A distinctive feature of the BSEC is the thorough elaboration of the substantive content of cooperation, which is formalised in periodically updated Economic Agenda. The latest edition Towards a Sustainable Future of the Wider Black Sea Area was adopted by the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in December 2023. The fact that consensus was achieved amid acute geopolitical tensions served as a testament to the strategic commitment of member states to preserve mechanisms for interaction and reaffirmed the value of BSEC as a dialogue platform.

The Economic Agenda defines the BSEC’s core functions as exchanging experience and best practices; implementing joint projects; harmonising national legal and regulatory frameworks; and aligning activities to advance cooperation. It sets out 18 objectives across areas jointly defined by the member states, alongside nearly 200 potential avenues for joint action to achieve them. The innovations incorporated into the new edition—the previous having been adopted in 2012—clearly reflect global trends: a heightened attention to environmental challenges, including climate change; the development of the green and blue economy and low-carbon growth; a breakthrough in digital technologies and their integration into various sectors has become a priority. The Economic Agenda serves as a guideline for the countries coordinating sectoral working groups in determining their two-year work priorities.

Central to the BSEC’s approach, as enshrined in its founding covenant, is a commitment to project-based activities. To that end, it has established a dedicated set of rules, criteria and procedures for launching and implementing joint projects across various fields. A dedicated Project Development Fund has been created for this purpose, with a steering committee responsible for selecting proposals, overseeing their financing and monitoring their outcomes. A prerequisite for any project is the participation of entities—be they companies, scientific or educational institutions, or social organisations—from at least three member states. To date, the Fund has successfully delivered over 20 projects.

The BSEC also places considerable emphasis on fostering cooperation with external partners, including both states and international organisations. It maintains observers and sectoral dialogue partners, the corresponding status being granted—upon application—to stakeholders through a unanimous decision by its steering bodies. Regular engagement is sustained with more than 40 international organisations.

Overall, the BSEC stands as a relatively mature and multifunctional institutional structure, equipped with a broad toolkit for advancing regional cooperation and contributing constructively to international processes. A pressing challenge now lies in building up its potential and enhancing the existing mechanisms to achieve the ambitious goals set out at its inception.

Over the past decades, the BSEC has achieved significant progress, primarily at the conceptual and political level. In addition to its curated Economic Agenda, the member states have endorsed regional strategies for developing green energy and adapting to climate change. In terms of law enforcement, regional action plans have been drawn up to combat human trafficking and corruption.

It has also sought to translate its commitments into practical action. The BSEC Coordination Centre for the Exchange of Statistical Data and Economic Information carries out systematic work in this regard. To boost trade and support SMEs, the BSEC has organised numerous conferences, fairs, and other events aimed at fostering B2B contacts. The investment portfolio of the BSTDB continues to expand.

In transport, the BSEC is overseeing a flagship initiative—the Black Sea Ring Highway. In this vein, a regional permit system for cross-border movement of vehicles has been introduced. Joint inspections of border crossings are regularly carried out to develop recommendations for increasing their capacity.

That said, an analysis of the activities of BSEC’s working bodies—and of the Organisation as a whole—reveals that it functions most effectively as a platform for sharing best practices and exchanging information on national policies and initiatives undertaken by member states across various sectors of the economy (energy, transport, agriculture, tourism, among others), as well as in science, culture, and education.

However, equally significant are the joint efforts of member states to strengthen the “fabric” of cooperation—through concrete projects and actions yielding tangible, practical outcomes. In this regard, the BSEC still holds considerable untapped potential.

It is worth noting that the pace of implementing already conceived and agreed upon measures does not always match the urgency of the challenges at hand—many promising endeavours remain pending for quite some time. There is a need to ramp up project activity. While numerous ideas and concepts developed within the BSEC remain relevant, some need updating in light of new global challenges and tasks.

The decisive factor in enhancing the effectiveness of the BSEC lies in the commitment and readiness of its member states. A joint analysis of both the achievements and challenges could provide the BSEC with a foundation for further refining its operational mechanisms and modalities. Beyond internal analytical efforts, dialogue with other regional organisations may prove instrumental in this regard. Drawing on each other’s best practices and expertise in tackling the issues that RIOs inevitably face could well become a key tool for improving their performance.

Strengthening synergy—through intensive, trust-based dialogue and, where feasible, coordinated action, alongside the active adoption of each other’s advances—is the optimal way to enhance the role of RIOs in addressing the shared goals of ensuring sustainable economic and social development for their member states.

With its wealth of experience in regional cooperation, the BSEC is well-poised to make a constructive contribution to this process.