Black Sea Synergy: Success or Failure for the European Union?

Abstract

Black Sea Region has been extensively on the agenda of the European Union (EU) since Romania and

Bulgaria’s membership in 2007. In 2008 the EU created “Black Sea Synergy” as a regional initiative in

order to develop cooperation in the region in certain areas such as energy, transport and environment.

Countries that take part in the Black Sea Synergy, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine

are also part of “Eastern Partnership” which is another initiative simultaneously established with “Black

Sea Synergy” as a part of the wider policy “European Neighbourhood Policy” (ENP). Besides some

EU member states, Turkey, an official candidate country to the EU since 1999, and Russia, a so-called

strategic partner of the EU are significant actors in the “Black Sea Synergy” initiative although they

are not included in ENP. The initiative comprises various common practices with similar initiatives

of the EU, such as providing financial assistance, supporting economic development and stability as

well as encouraging economic and democratic reforms. Although the EU attempts to take initiative in

solving the conflicts and increase security in the region, it has significant deficiencies in conducting

these policies as the literature indicates. This article aims to analyse the “Black Sea Synergy” in light of

the recent developments regarding Turkey’s deteriorating relations with the EU and Russia’s annexation

of Crimea and destabilization of Eastern Ukraine. The article attempts to answer “to what extent do

these developments affect “Black Sea Synergy”? and argues that, although the “Black Sea Synergy” is

an initiative mainly comprising technical projects in some key sectors, the crisis in Ukraine and the

relations between Turkey and the EU have exacerbated the “challenge” confronted by the EU in terms

of implementing the objectives of the initiative. Obviously the political development of the “Black Sea

Synergy” continues to be dependent on reciprocal relations between the EU, Russia and Turkey in light

of the current events. However the technical character of the Black Sea Synergy has the potential to

maintain the contacts between the partners despite the political disagreements among them. All in all,

a cooperative environment with Turkey and Russia will provide a common ground for achieving the

EU’s general objectives in the Black Sea region despite the prevalence of structural deficiencies of the

EU as a foreign policy actor.

Keywords

• Black Sea,Black Sea Synergy,EU,Russia,Turkey

References

1. Aktürk, Ş. (2014) “Toward a Turkish-Russian Axis? Conflicts in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, and Cooperation over Nuclear Energy”, Insight Turkey, 16/4:13-22.
2. Averre, D. (2016) “The Ukraine Conflict: Russia’s Challenge to European Security Governance”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68(4): 699-725.
3. Aydın, M. (2014) “Turkish Policy towards the Wider Black Sea and the EU Connection”, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 16(3):383-397.
4. Bolkvadze, K. (2016) “Cherry Picking EU Conditionality: Selective Compliance in Georgia’s Hybrid Regime”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68(3): 409-440.
5. Christou, G. (2010) “European Union security logics to the east: The European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership”, European Security, 19(3):413-430.
6. Dragneva, R. & Wolczuk, K. (2016) “Between Dependence and Integration: Ukraine’s Relations with Russia”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68(4):678-698.
7. Düzgit, Aydın S. & Kaliber, A. (2016) “Encounters with Europe in an Era of Domestic and International Turmoil: Is Turkey a De-Europeanising Candidate Country?” South European Society and Politics, 21 (1): 1-14.
8. Forsberg, T. & Herd, G. (2015) “Russia and NATO: From Windows of Opportunities to Closed Doors”, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 23(1):41-57.

9. Freire, M. R. (2014) “Russian Reactions towards EU–Black Sea Integration”, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 16 (3): 370-382.
10. Gerrits, A. W. M. & Bader, M. (2016) “Russian patronage over Abkhazia and South Ossetia: implications for conflict resolution”, East European Politics, 32 (3): 297-313.
11. Haukkala, H. (2015) “From Cooperative to Contested Europe? The Conflict in Ukraine as a Culmination of a Long-Term Crisis in EU–Russia Relations”, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 23 (1): 25-40.
12. Haukkala, H. (2016) “A Perfect Storm; Or What Went Wrong and What Went Right for the EU in Ukraine”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68 (4): 653-664.
13. Katchanovski, I. (2016) “The Separatist War in Donbas: A Violent Break-up of Ukraine?”, European Politics and Society, Online Journal:1-17.
14. Nitoiu, C. (2016) “Towards conflict or cooperation? The Ukraine crisis and EU-Russia relations”, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 16 (3): 375-390.
15. Onuch, O. & Sasse, G. (2016) “The Maidan in Movement: Diversity and the Cycles of Protest”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68(4): 556-587.
16. Petriashvili, S. (2015) “Where is the Black Sea Region in Turkey’s Foreign Policy? Turkish Policy Quarterly, (Fall):106-112.
17. Pridham, G. (2014) “EU/Ukraine Relations and the Crisis with Russia, 2013-14: A Turning Point”, The International Spectator, 49(4): 53-61.
18. Pynnöniemi K. & Rácz, A. (2016) “Threat perception affects operational doctrines”, FIIA Comment, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2: 1-2.
19. Rettman, A. (2016) “Nato’s Russia Deterrent takes shape in Warsaw”, euobserver, 8 July, (Retrieved from: https://euobserver.com/foreign/134269, 8.8.2016).
20. Romanova, T, (2016) “Sanctions and the Future of EU–Russian Economic Relations”, Europe-Asia Studies, 68 (4): 774-796.
21. Sasse, G. (2013) “Linkages and the promotion of democracy: the EU’s eastern neighbourhood”, Democratization, 20 (4): 553-591.
22. Triantaphyllou, D. (2014) “The European Union and the Black Sea Region in Search of a Narrative or a New Paradigm”, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 16(3) 286-299.
23. Üstün, Ç. (2010a) “Europeanization of foreign policy: the case of Turkish foreign policy towards the Black Sea region”, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 10 (2): 225-242.
24. Üstün, Ç. (2010b) “EU and Turkish Neighbourhood Policies: Common Goals”, Caucasian Review of International Affairs, 4(4), (autumn): 342-353.
25. Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, (2007), “Black Sea Synergy - A New Regional Cooperation Initiative”, Brussels. (Retrieved from: http://eeas.europa.eu/ archives/docs/enp/pdf/pdf/com07_160_en.pdf, 28.11.2016)
26. European Commission, Joint Staff Working Document (2015) “Black Sea Synergy: review of a regional cooperation initiative”, Brussels. (Retrieved from: https://blacksea-horizon.eu/object/document/318/ attach/swd_2015_6_en.pdf, 28.11.2016)
27. European Commission, Press Release (2010) “Black Sea Synergy”, MEMO 10/78, Brussels. (Retrieved from: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-10-78_en.htm?locale=en, 28.11.2016)
28. European External Action Service (2016), “The Russian Federation and the European Union”, https://eeas. europa.eu/delegations/russia/720/the-russian-federation-and-the-european-union-eu_en.
29. European Union Global Strategy (2016) “Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe, A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy”, Brussels. (Retrieved from: https:// europa.eu/globalstrategy/sites/globalstrategy/files/regions/files/eugs_review_web.pdf, 8.8. 2016)