Seas that unite” “” “

The creation of an “Adriatic-Ionian Euroregion” that may facilitate the coordination of activities of cooperation between the countries of the Adriatic, help support a more efficient management of common resources and ensure the conditions for a harmonious and sustainable development in the area: that’s the idea floated at the Congress of the local and regional powers of the Council of Europe (representing 200,000 local and regional authorities in 46 countries) and the Region of Molise (Italy), organizers of the international conference ‘An Adriatic Euroregion. A contribution to European integration’, held at Termoli Campobasso, Italy. AN INTERNAL SEA. “The process of European construction – pointed out GIOVANNI DI STASI, chairman of the Congress of local and regional powers of the Council of Europe – is advancing along two converging lines; the first is that interpreted by the European Union, the second has been developed by the Council of Europe since 1949, on the basis of international conventions, with the objective of reinforcing democracy, peace, sustainable development and social cohesion in the member countries. To favour the process of the European integration of the Western Balkans, the countries washed by the Adriatic must cooperate on a permanent basis. Cooperation between the countries of the Union such as Italy and Slovenia, candidate countries such as Croatia and countries that want to enter the EU such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro and Albania, will help the process of integration”. In Di Stasi’s view, “the question of the safeguard of the environment assumes a central character” among the objectives of the Euroregion, but “other fields of cooperation identified – agriculture, fishing, tourism and culture, infrastructures and transport – must be treated with a perspective that may privilege the protection of waters and the marine ecosystem, the integrated management of coastal zones, the diffusion of eco-sustainable practices in fishing, in aquaculture and in agriculture, the protection of the landscape, and conformity with strict safety regulations for ships in transit”. The “Adriatic-Ionian Euroregion” may “help transform a weak area of Europe into a productive area, by helping the integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union”. ELSEWHERE IN EUROPE. Other local and regional authorities in Europe are having to come to terms with the experience of ‘closed seas’, such as the Baltic and Black Seas. “Any city of the Baltic Sea, as also any other city interested in the development of the Baltic region – explained VYTAUTAS JUODAGALVIS, vice-president of the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC), founded in Poland in 1991 and comprising 102 cities in the 10 Baltic nations (11 with the entry of Belarus next year) – may become a member of the Union, which is aimed at promoting and reinforcing cooperation and the exchange of experiences between the countries of the area”. The UBC’s activities are wide-ranging; it coordinates projects and promotes exchanges between the partner cities; it organizes courses and seminars; and publishes a newsletter. The Union has 10 specialized Committees on such issues as economic cooperation, culture, education, information, tourism and town planning and 4 Coordination boards on issues relating to youth, women, European Union and Agenda 21. It also enjoys observer status at many international organizations, including the Congress of local and regional powers of the Council of Europe. “Part of the uniqueness of the Black Sea – explained LUDMILA SFIRLOAGA, vice-president of the Congress of local and regional powers of the Council of Europe – consists in the fact that its surface area is five times smaller than its drainage area, which covers entirely or partially the territory of 20 countries of Central and Balkan Europe and 2 in Asia. For this reason, the Black Sea is vulnerable to the pressures exerted by the economic activities present on its shores, and the equilibrium of its ecosystem depends not only on the countries on its littoral but also on those that don’t directly face onto it”. “Most of the transit routes of the energy resources of Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus towards Europe – she continued – cross the Black Sea. In its southern part, Turkey is able to ensure its links with the Mediterranean ports. The creation of new independent States has posed the problems of the transition to democracy and the difficulties inherent in the consolidation and stability of the rule of law. Democratization and the opening of markets cannot be developed in a proper way without political solutions that may respond to these tensions. Interregional cooperation is needed”.