Black Sea

General Introduction to the Black Sea basin

The Black Sea region is regarded as a ‘strategic bridge’ an economic, geo-political and trade corridor of strategic importance, connecting to the Mediterranean Sea via the Marmara and Aegean Seas, and Europe with Asia to the Caspian Sea, Central Asia and the Middle East and with south-east Asia and China. It is a dynamic, heterogeneous region of political, economic and diversified societal cultures characterised by the countries’ close ties and their great economic potential, but also by diverging interests. The wider Black Sea region (considering BSEC Member States) comprises three European Union (EU) Member States (Bulgaria, Greece and Romania), three candidate countries for EU membership (Albania, Serbia, Turkey), five Eastern partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), and the Russian Federation. The Sea of Azov drains into the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait. The Dardanelles Strait is the passage between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.

Two of the largest rivers in Europe in terms of discharge (Danube and Dniepr) flow into the Black Sea and contribute to the low levels of salinity in the sea water. Only connected to the World Ocean through the narrow Bosphorus Strait, the Black Sea is an almost closed sea where the deeper layers of water column do not mix with the upper layers, which receive oxygen from the atmosphere. As a result, the deeper layers of water are for the most part anoxic.

The Black Sea region is an important crossroads through which many goods transit. It is an economic area with a potential for blue growth. The region accounts for more than 34% of natural gas and oil imports to the EU; these are mostly produced onshore but recently there has also been development in offshore areas, i.e.  Romania 8% of its overall production is offshore crude, Bulgaria etc.

The semi-enclosed area offers a privileged environment for the development of the maritime activities. Tourism also bears importance for the littoral states and accounts for a significant share of the generated GDP. Fishing and aquaculture also represent important economic activities at regional level with differences between the States. The combination of different human activities performed in the same semi-enclosed area requires good planning, and an even greater cooperation between countries due to the narrowness of the basin.

In order to develop the Blue economy in the region, Black Sea riparian countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Russian Federation, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine) and the Republic of Moldova endorsed the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)[1] and the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea (CMA)[2] in May 2019.

The Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea  represents a follow-up to the commitment of the 2018 Burgas Ministerial Declaration “Towards a Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea” and a result of a process initiated and backed by the European Commission for the implementation of the Black Sea Synergy

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/launch-european-black-sea-strategic-rese…

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/press/black-sea-ministers-endorse-…

MSP Cooperation in the Black Sea

Maritime spatial planning is an initiative that was fully incorporated into maritime policy making in the Black Sea region. Bulgaria adopted the plan in May 2023 and Romania in November 2023. 

Historically speaking, MSP was first introduced at the regional level through the Plan Coast Project, 2006-2008, in Bulgaria and Romania, which were preparing for pre-accession at that time. MSP was part of ICZM from the beginning, and was used as tool for sustainable development and integrated management. As a result of cooperation in the context of the Black Sea Commission, as part of its Advisory Group on the Development of Common Methodologies for Integrated Coastal Zone Management ICZM, MSP was taken into account in the elaboration of different regional ICZM documents. Romania has been the only country to have an ICZM Law, and a National Committee of Coastal Zone under the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, Bucharest. Thus, in Romania, the development of MSP was based on the previous ICZM experiences.

In 2013, the first inventory of Black Sea MSP was started by the ICZM Project “Black Sea CBC – Joint Operational Programme” regarding national policies for marine space, data collection and information exchange, cooperation with Member States, and cooperation with third countries.

The projects MARSPLAN BS (2015-2018) and MARSPLAN BS II (2019-2021) are two important projects in this respect, as they include the development of a fully-fledged, formal maritime spatial plan for the cross-border area of Mangalia-Shabla (Romania and Bulgaria). While the first project aimed at developing foundations (methodology, indicators, rules, strategies) for MSP and developing several case studies in Romania and Bulgaria, the second project aims at developing a common MSP strategy based on the results of the first plan and should lead to the elaboration of MSP plans for both countries.  

Collaboration in the sea basin between EU Member States and third Black Sea countries has been effective through various projects such as the MISIS project (2014) involving Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey on protected areas, or the ANEMONE project (2018) involving Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine, and which aimed at sharing knowledge, innovation and good practices.