AER Conference on “Regions of the Black Sea: Creating success together”

Paris, 16 February 2010

Presentation of the Black Sea Euroregion by Ludmila Sfirloaga, President of the Chamber of Regions - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Madam President,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have already spoken about the Black Sea Euroregion, created at the initiative of the Council of Europe Congress in September 2008 as a platform for co-operation between municipalities and regions. I would like to use this opportunity to present the Euroregion in greater detail.

The Black Sea Euroregion was established on 26 September 2008 at the international conference in Varna, Bulgaria, when its Constituent Act was signed by 14 municipalities from 4 countries.

Since then, the Euroregion has held two meetings of its Assembly, in November 2008 in Constanta, Romania, and in March 2009 in Varna. The second Assembly in particular revised the Euroregion’s procedures to facilitate the admission of new members, and adopted a BSER Policy Paper on Energy Efficiency, dealing with the development of energy systems and encouraging investments in renewable energies.

Today, BSER includes seven counties and municipalities from Romania, four municipalities from Bulgaria, the Cahul region of Moldova, the city of Idjevan in Armenia and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in Georgia.

In participating in the creation of the Euroregion, the Congress acted out of the conviction that co-operation and development are interdependent, representing key factors for enhancing stability in the region and overcoming the difficulties that the Black Sea states are confronted with. We in the Congress strongly believe that establishing a functional Black Sea network and a framework for interregional co-operation will lead to a better use of resources in the area, the improvement of management capacities of local and regional authorities and the reinforcement of good local and regional governance.

As I already mentioned in my previous statement, the goals and activities of BSER are complementary to the existing structures in the Black Sea region, such as the Black Sea Economic Co-operation Organisation (BSEC) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (PABSEC). We are convinced that the Black Sea Euroregion and these official organisations, very different as far as their competences are concerned, can create synergies in order to ensure the sustainable development of the region. The Black Sea Euroregion, as a platform for co-operation between communities at the “people’s level”, serves to help the understanding of other cultures and fosters tolerance and mutual respect in this multi-ethnic region.

The Euroregion is currently proposing four projects under the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument (ENPI) Black Sea Programme for 2007-2013. These are the Black Sea Cultural Traditions project, the Black Sea Expertise Centres, the Black Sea Menu and the Black Sea Cruise.

The general objective of the 12-month Black Sea Cultural Traditions project is the identification, conservation, popularisation and dissemination of the Black Sea folk traditions and customs. The project will include a documentary and promotion materials presenting the various regions of the Black Sea basin and their traditions (Project value: €249 000).

Another 1-year project proposes the creation of a network of centres of expertise in the field of sustainable development and environment protection. This will lead to the establishment of five such centres and a co-ordinating centre in Constanta, as well as the development of three sustainable development plans: at municipal, county and city level (Project value: €700 000).

The 15-month Black Sea Menu project is aimed at using the culinary traditions of the Black Sea region to help promote tourism and cultural exchanges. Although the BSER member countries have different cultural identities, they have common elements. We can therefore talk about unity in cultural diversity and a common culinary culture in the Black Sea area. The project involves courses to train 30 chefs and qualified staff in cooking specific Black Sea dishes, and the organisation of a culinary festival in Constanta (Project value: €486 000).

Finally, the 1-year Black Sea Cruise project seeks to contribute to the social and economic development of the area by creating a new Black Sea cruise. This would allow visits to tourist attractions in the Black Sea ports, and the extension of the cruise to the Danube ports and the Danube Delta. Pre-feasibility and marketing studies are currently under preparation (Project value: €688 000)

Allow me now to touch upon some of the problems encountered by the BSER.

The first stems from the different financial capabilities of BSER members, which leads to difficulties in co-financing projects, in particular in the framework of the ENPI Black Sea programme. The second is the limited administrative capacity of the newly established Euroregion, confined for the time being to the technical and human resources of Constanta County Council which provides the BSER secretariat. Another shortcoming is the lack of experience of some BSER members in handling project development and implementation. Finally, the fact that BSER members have not yet appointed their liaison officers renders communication between them more difficult.

It is clear that the Euroregion’s problems will be solved by an increased financial capacity and through more experience in putting projects into practice. In the future the BSER will develop a stronger voice in the area and in the European landscape.

I would like to conclude by stressing the importance of your conference in convening representatives of regions with a view to developing interregional co-operation around the Black Sea Basin. I am sure the Assembly of European Regions could benefit from the experience already acquired by the BSEC and develop synergies with this newly created platform for co-operation. Indeed, I believe in the exchange of experiences and expertise in order to avoid the duplication of efforts.

I make a plea for developing co-operation between organisations which pursue the same goals. We in the Congress expect  that the tangible contribution given to the setting up of the Black Sea Euroregion will allow it to acquire a stronger voice and further the development of its activities. The support of European institutions and associations could help in enlarging the membership of the Euroregion to other European municipalities and regions , especially in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

I strongly hope for your positive response to these proposals.

Thank you.