BLACK SEA ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION (BSEC): PROPOSALS AND POSSIBILITIES WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE EU

From the ashes of the disintegration of the USSR a patchwork of regional organisations grew up, stretching from Central and Eastern Europe and extending into the former Soviet Union. Neighbouring countries which had, until then, been excluded from such arrangements came to covet membership of these regional groupings. The countries left out of this process have come together to form their own economic co-operation project- the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC). The majority of BSEC members comprise the former socialist satellite republics of the Soviet Union. Typically,theyarefighting theseriouseconomic,socialandpoliticalproblemsposed by the transition to market economies. Naturally, the EU has lately become the focus of these countries' ambitions and aspirations. The EU has a reciprocal interest in the BSEC. Abundant natural resources make the BSEC of special interest to the EU. The integration of the BSEC states is significant for the EU not only economically reasqns but also for reasons of security.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

-, Black Sea, BSEC, EU

BLACK SEA ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION (BSEC): PROPOSALS AND POSSIBILITIES WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE EU

Since 1974 Turkey has contended that the Cyprus question should be settled through negotiations between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots. However, develop- ments have shown that bargaining carried out on this platform did not yield the ex- pected results. The time has come for direct bilateral negotiations between Turkey and Greece since the Cyprus question is basically a Greco-Turkish problem. This is the only platform which can pave the way for a solution on the island. In this process, both parties should pursue a bipartisanship model that will ease the bargaining pro- cess by making it easier for the parties to give concessions and retreat to an extent from their starting positions. Both Turkey and greece should adapt their political decision-making processes to facilitate the adoption of a solution on the Cyprus issue.

Keywords:

BlaCK Sea, BSEC, EU,

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