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Brief description The BSEC-Black Sea Economic Cooperation was initiated in 1992 as an informal intergovernmental meeting on Black Sea Economic Cooperation and was converted into an international economic organization on 1 May 1999, with the coming into force of its Charter signed in June 1998 in Yalta. The BSEC has its headquarters in Istanbul and is composed of twelve member states (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldavia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and the Ukraine). The following countries and international organisations have been granted observer status: Austria, Belarus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Tunisia, the US, as well as the (non-governmental) International Black Sea Club, the Energy Charter Secretariat and the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution. The BSECs work is based on procedural rules providing for decision-making with specific types of majority, depending on the subject, although the general view is that efforts are made for BSEC decisions to be taken unanimously. The principal regular decision making organ of the Organization is the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, while the procedural and substantive functions of the BSEC are being coordinated by a rotating six-month Chairmanship, undertaken by the Member States in alphabetical order (Hellenic Chairmanship from 1st of June 2010 – 31st of December 2010). The decision making within the BSEC is, apart from the Summit, bestowed upon the Council which may charge subsidiary organs to make a decision on a particular question and inform the Council on it. The Council shall, in principle, be convened at least once every six months. Additional meetings of the Council may be held upon the request of one or more of the Member States, subject to consensus of the Member States. According to the issues being set in the Agenda, the Members States of the BSEC are also represented by their respective Minister (i.e. Ministers of Transport, Ministers of Energy). The seat of the Permanent International Secretariat (PERMIS) is in Instanbul. On 1 May 2006, Greek Ambassador Mr. Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos assumed the post of Secretary General of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat; he was elected, through consensus by the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC member states (Bucharest, 26/4/2006). Other Bodies related with the BSEC Organisation are: (i) The BSEC Parliamentary Assembly (PABSEC). The seat of the International Secretariat of the PABSEC is in Istanbul; (ii) the BSEC Business Council, which reflects the importance attributed by the Organization to improving the business environment and extending cooperation across the Black Sea region. The seat of the Secretariat of the BSEC Business Council is in Istanbul; (iii) The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, which is the Organizations funding mechanism, is based in Thessaloniki; (iv) The International Center for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), headquartered in Athens. It is acknowledged as the Organizations de facto think-tank and covers cooperation between scientific and academic communities of the BSEC member states, and its promotion through other similar foundations and organisations. The Project Development Fund is another valuable tool for developing regional economic cooperation, providing funding opportunities for member state public and private agencies entrusted with carrying out preliminary feasibility studies for development projects. This Fund operates within the framework of the BSEC International Secretariat. Intergovernmental cooperation within the BSEC focuses principally on the fields of energy, transport, communications, trade and economic development, banking and finance, institutional renewal and good governance, combating organised crime, environmental protection, agriculture, cooperation in healthcare issues, emergency assistance, research and development, education, tourism, culture, facilitating the transport of goods and customs procedures, exchange of statistical data and the promotion of SMEs. Agenda Topic Area A: BSEC and EU cooperation in the field of energy Towards a future “Joint BSEC-EU Action Plan for Regional Energy Security”? The adoption of the “BSEC Declaration on Cooperation with the EU in the field of Energy” in April 2008 (Kyiv, Ukraine) has set the directions of interaction between the two International Organisations in the above-mentioned field. Evaluating the efforts have been done so far, while exploring the possibilities and the viability of such a joint venture, as being proposed in the BSEC Declaration, are going to be the main issues to be discussed by the Ministers of Energy of the BSEC Member States.Topic Area B: Implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on the Development of the Motorways of the Sea at the BSEC region The Member States of the BSEC, in 2007, having recognized the need for smooth, safe, secure and environmentally friendly sea-transport systems, adopted the aforementioned Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The concept of the “Motorways of the Sea” (MoS), as defined in the Report of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Development of the MoS, in March 2010, could be used as a key tool to promote the reduction of the road congestion and/or to improve the access to peripheral and island regions and States of the BSEC. The latest developments concerning the implementation of the MoU of MoS are going to be reviewed by the Ministers of Transport of the BSEC Member States, whereas attention should be paid to the advancement of means and services for the maritime transport in the BSEC region. Board Chairman-in-office: Stefanos KATSOULIS Secretary General: Erifyli NOMIKOU Countries Matrix The Countries Matrix provides you with all the participating states and organizations to the simulation and let's you know which of them are still not assigned to a participant.
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