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The
Eighth Meeting of the BSEC Council of Ministers
Yerevan/Armenia
The Eighth Meeting of
the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) was held in Yerevan, Armenia on
April 18, 2003, preceded by the Meeting of the Committee of
Senior Officials on April 16-17. The following Member States
of the BlackSea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) attended:
�
Republic of Albania
� Republic of Armenia
� Republic of
Azerbaijan
� Republic of Bulgaria
� Georgia
�
Greece
� Republic of Moldova
� Romania
� Russian
Federation
� Republic of Turkey
� Ukraine
The meeting
was attended by representatives of the Republic of Austria,
the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the
Republic of Italy and the Republic of Poland as Observers.
Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC
(PABSEC), the BSEC Business Council (BSEC BC), the BlackSea
Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and the International
Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) were also in attendance,
as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the
European Commission (EC) and the United States of America as
official Guests. The representatives of the Black Sea
Universities Network (BSUN) and the Union of Road Transport
Associations in the BSEC Region (BSEC-URTA), as NGOs granted
sectoral dialogue partnership with the BSEC, also took part.
The meeting was chaired by Vartan OSKANIAN, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, who delivered the
opening statement. The draft agenda of the Meeting was
discussed and adopted.
Resolut�ons, Dec�s�ons and
Recommendat�ons
Taking into account the new developments in
BSEC since the Seventh Meeting of the Council, the Ministers
discussed and adopted the "Resolutions, Decisions and
Recommendations," submitted by the Committee of Senior
Officials, for approval. The next Meeting of the Council of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be hosted by the Republic of
Azerbaijan in Baku in October 2003.
The Ministers
expressed their sincere thanks to the Government of the
Republic of Armenia and personally to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs H.E. Mr. Vartan OSKANIAN, for their contribution to
the further promotion of the BSEC goals and for the
hospitality extended to the delegations and the excellent
arrangements made for the meeting in Yerevan. The Council
expressed thanks to the Observers, PABSEC, BSEC BC, BSTDB,
ICBSS, the official Guests and the NGOs granted sectoral
dialogue partnership with BSEC for their participation.
The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member
States of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC):
- Guided by the basic principles and
objectives embodied in the Charter of the Organization of the
BSEC,
- Bearing in mind the provisions of the Summit
Declaration on Black Sea Economic Cooperation signed in
Istanbul on June 25, 1992, the subsequent Summit Declarations
as well as the Istanbul Decennial Summit Declaration signed on
June 25, 2002,
- Emphasizing that the BSEC consolidation
on a basis of its transformation into a project-oriented
international organization requires more forceful and active
commitment from each Member State,
- Recognizing that the
BSEC needs to develop practical contacts with other
international organizations and institutions for the
enhancement of its role in the Black Sea region in particular
and on the international arena in general,
- Pursuing the
directives and guidance envisaged in the "Resolutions,
Decisions an Recommendations" adopted at the Seventh Meeting
of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held on 25
October 2002 in Tirana,
- Taking note of the Reports of
the Meetings of the BSEC Subsidiary and Related Bodies,
Summary Proceedings of Conferences, Seminars and Workshops,
agreed on the following:
1. The Council reviewed the state
of affairs concerning the establishment of the BSEC Project
Development Fund and, particularly, elaborated on the steps
required to activate the functioning of the Fund in a short
time.
2. The Council commended the transfer of US$30,000 by
Greece to the Project Development Fund and encouraged the
other Member States to transfer their voluntary contributions
in the nearest period.
3. The Council requested the
Chairman-in-Office to convene the constituent meeting of the
Steering Committee in three months after the date of entrance
of the first voluntary contribution to the above-mentioned
account of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat (by
July 15, 2003). It is understood that this time will allow
also other Member States to transfer their voluntary
contributions to the Fund, so that at least three donor Member
States to be represented at the first Meeting of the Steering
Committee.
4. In conformity with the Article 18 of the
Regulations and Rules of the Project Development Fund, which
assign the administration of the Fund to the Secretary General
of PERMIS, the Council entrusted the Secretary General with
the task of opening a bank account for the said Fund and
communicate its requisites to the Member States.
5. The
Council referred, in particular, to the provisions of the
Regulations and Rules of the Fund, stipulating that each
Member State and BSEC Related Body shall appoint one
representative to the Steering Committee. While leaving the
final decision in this respect on the competent authorities of
the Member States, the Council suggested as the most
appropriate solution an eventual appointment to the Steering
Committee of representatives coming from Ministries of
Finances, Ministries of National Economy or Ministries of
Foreign Affairs.
6. To ensure the preconditions for
effective decision-making, the Council agreed that the valid
quorum of the constituent meeting of the Steering Committee
shall imply the participation in this meeting of six Member
States, at least (simple majority of 11 BSEC Member States).
It is understood however that this number shall include at
least three Members of the Steering Committee with a right to
vote (representative of a State contributor to the
Fund).
7. Furthermore, the Council invited the BSEC Working
Groups to submit to the Committee of Senior Officials
applications for financing the projects generated and/or
identified within their activities, thus allowing the Senior
Officials to select the most elaborated project proposals and
submit them to the Steering Committee of the Fund to decide on
their financing. The project proposals shall be outlined
according to the Standard Application Form, elaborated by the
BSEC Working Group on Banking and Finance.
BSEC-EU
Relationship
8. In accordance with the Decennial
Declaration of the Heads of State or Government of the BSEC in
Istanbul on June 25, 2002, to the effect that as the dynamics
of the emerging new European Architecture open up the
potential for effective partnerships with BSEC, the BSEC
Member States attach importance to the policies in building up
a tangible relationship with the EU and call on BSEC and the
EU to undertake concrete steps to advance this cooperation.
9. Stressing the importance of the ties the European Union
has with the BSEC Member States; acknowledging the shared
interests between the BSEC region and the EU in areas such as
energy, transportation, environment and cooperation in
combating organised crime; and having in mind the models of
institutional relations, the EU enjoys with a wide geographic
range of partners, inter alia MERCOSUR, APEC, ASEAN and the
Council of Baltic Sea States, the Council of Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States invited the Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Greece to take the opportunity of the
role as President of the Council of Ministers of the European
Union to propose to the EU Council to request the European
Commission to prepare a draft proposal on a new relationship
of the EU with the BSEC, on a multilateral basis, taking under
consideration the experience of the Northern Dimension
including current and future sectoral projects with the BSEC,
exploring the possibility of better utilization of allocated
resources to enhance the new relationship and providing for
meetings at official level to review progress.
10. The
Council expressed the expectation that the forthcoming
European Council to be held in Thessalonica in June 2003 will
provide further impetus to the strengthening of the BSEC-EU
relations.
11. The Council reiterated the invitation
extended to the representatives of the European Commission to
participate in BSEC meetings, allowing thus exchange of
updated information on issues of mutual interest.
12.
Furthermore the Council calls upon the incoming Presidencies
of BSEC and EU to follow-up the implementation of this
resolution, undertaking the necessary actions to this aim.
Contribution of BSEC to Strengthening Security and
Stability in the Region
13. The Council took note of the
Report of the Meeting of the Ad hoc Study Group for
Considering Ways and Means of Enhancing Contribution of the
BSEC to Strengthening Security and Stability in the Region
organised in Athens on March 26-27, 2003 by the ICBSS, and
instructed the ad hoc Study Group to continue its work with a
view to elaborating and submitting to the Committee of Senior
Officials the requested working paper on this issue.
The
Council decided to reappoint Ambassador Valeri CHECHELASHVILI
(Georgia) as Secretary General of the BSEC PERMIS as of May 1,
2003 for a new three-year term in office. The Council also
decided:
- to appoint Ambassador Tugay ULU�EVIK (Republic
of Turkey) as First Deputy Secretary General of the BSEC
PERMIS as of May 1, 2003 for a three-year term in office;
u
to extend for six months the term in office of Ambassador Ion
BISTREANU (Romania) as Deputy Secretary General of the BSEC
PERMIS until October 31, 2003;
u to appoint Mr. Lucas
KATSIKARIS (Greece) as Project Coordinator of BSEC PERMIS as
of May 1, 2003 for a three-year term in office;
- to
appoint Mr. Stanislav DEMIRDJIEV (Republic of Bulgaria) as
Legal Advisor of BSEC PERMIS as of May 1, 2003 for a
three-year term in office;
- to appoint Mr. Alexandru
BONDARCIUK (Republic of Moldova) as Executive Manager of BSEC
PERMIS as of November 1, 2003 for a three-year term in office;
u to appoint Mr. Andriy KONONENKO (Ukraine) as Executive
Manager of BSEC PERMIS as of November 1, 2003 for a three-year
term in office;
- to extend for two years the term in
office of Mr. Agim PASHOLLI (Republic of Albania) as Executive
Manager of BSEC PERMIS until October 31, 2005;
- to extend
for one year the term in office of Mr. Ashot POGHOSSIAN
(Republic of Armenia) as Executive Manager of BSEC PERMIS
until October 31, 2004.
The Council took note in a positive
manner of the intention of Ukraine to nominate a candidate for
the post of the Secretary General of BSEC PERMIS for the term
starting in May 2006. The Council took note of the
recommendation to review the relevant normative BSEC texts in
order to incorporate provisions stipulating a definite time
limit of presentation of candidatures to BSEC PERMIS posts,
appropriate background for the positions of Executive Manager
and interview of the candidates before the decision-making
process for their appointment. In order to facilitate the
amendment of the concerned normative texts the Council
instructed the Committee of Senior Officials to elaborate on
these issues and submit concrete proposals.
Institution of
Country Coordinator
Taking into consideration the need to
revitalise the institution of the Country-Coordinator in
accordance with its Terms of Reference, the Council appointed
for the term of office May 2003-April 2005:
- The Republic
of Azerbaijan as Country-Coordinator to the Working Group on
Transport and the Working Group on Energy;
- Georgia as
Country-Coordinator to the Working Group on Agriculture and
Agro-Industry;
- Romania as Country-Coordinator to the
Working Group on Cooperation in Combating Organised Crime;
- The Republic of Turkey as Country-Coordinator to the
Working Group on Environmental Protection;
- Ukraine as
Country-Coordinator to the Working Group on Cooperation in
Emergency Assistance.
Furthermore the Council appointed
Greece as Country-Coordinator to the Working Group on SMEs for
the term of office November 2003-October 2005. Taking into
account the fact that additional consultations are needed for
the appointment of Country-Coordinators to the Working Groups
on Health Care and Pharmaceutics, on Cooperation in Science
and Technology, on Exchange of Statistical Data and Economic
Information, and on Trade and Economic Development, the
Council called upon the Member States to mobilise their
relevant national authorities in order to submit their
candidacies and their Action Plans, enabling thus the Council
to appoint Country-Coordinators to the afore-mentioned Working
Groups at its next Meeting.
Membership and Observer
Status
Taking into account of the requests of the Republic
of Austria, the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of
Germany, the Republic of Italy and the Republic of Tunisia to
have to continue their observer status in the BSEC which comes
to an end in April 2003, the Council decided to renew the said
status of the afore-mentioned States for another period of two
years. The Council, availing itself of the opportunity of the
renewal of the observer status of the afore-mentioned States,
invited all the Observer States to the Organization to
intensify their participation in the BSEC activities with a
view to enhancing the cooperative capacity of the BSEC.
Applications of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and Serbia and Montenegro for admission in BSEC
Having been
informed by the Chairman-in-Office of the completion of the
negotiations on admission of the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and of Serbia-Montenegro, the Council invited the
two afore-mentioned States to accede at their earliest
convenience to the Charter of the Organization of the Black
Sea Economic Cooperation, done in Yalta on June 5, 1998, in
order to become Members of the Organization. In accordance
with the relevant provisions of the Charter the membership of
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and of
Serbia-Montenegro will be effective as of the date of the
deposit with the PERMIS of the instrument of accession of each
state to the Charter.
The Council decided to place the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in Group III of the
scale of mandatory annual contributions to the Budget of the
BSEC PERMIS. The Council decided also to place
Serbia-Montenegro in Group II of the scale of mandatory annual
contributions to the Budget of the BSEC PERMIS. In accordance
with the Rule 8 of the Financial Regulations of the BSEC
PERMIS, this preliminary assignment to the list of
contributions is to be confirmed at the first meeting of the
Council following the effective date of membership of each
Member State to be, together with the calculation of the
contributions for the Financial Year 2003, in case one or both
of the future Member States become a Party to the Charter in
the course of the Financial Year 2003. The Council considered
the Draft List of Criteria for Admission of New Member States.
It was agreed that further consideration of the issue is
required for the finalization of the said Draft List. The
Council considered the Draft List of Criteria for Granting
States Observer Status in BSEC. It was agreed that further
consideration of the issue is required for the finalization of
the said Draft List.
Cooperation with International
Organisations and Regional Groupings
a) UN
The Council
welcomed the Resolution 57/34 of the General Assembly of the
United Nations hailing the so far cooperation between the BSEC
and the UN, inviting the Secretary General of the UN to
continue to consult with BSEC with a view to promoting
cooperation and coordination between the two Secretariats and
calling upon the specialised agencies and other organizations
and programs of the United Nations system to cooperate with
the BSEC in order to continue consultations and implement
programmes with the BSEC and its associated institutions. The
Council expressed its resolution to continue and strengthen
the working relations with the United Nations and their
specialised agencies, organizations and programmes. To that
effect the Council requested the Secretary General to pursue
the efforts for the successful implementation of the
provisions of the afore-mentioned Resolution 57/34 of the
General Assembly of the United Nations. Furthermore the
Council requested the various BSEC Working Groups to take into
account during their work the possibilities for interaction
with the United Nations, their specialised agencies,
organizations and programmes.
b) BSEC-FAO Cooperation
The Council stressed that the cooperation between BSEC and
UN FAO has reached a new qualitative level especially after
the start of the implementation of the Project on
"Institutional Strengthening to Facilitate Intra- and
Inter-regional Agricultural Trade of the BSEC Member States,"
within the frame of the Technical Cooperation Programme of the
FAO, estimating US$342,000. They called up the relevant
national authorities to do their utmost for the eventual
implementation of the Project. Noting the efforts of the
PERMIS on further enhancing the cooperation between the BSEC
and the UN FAO, the Council instructed PERMIS to continue
negotiations with the FAO pursuing their possible involvement
in the identification of priorities in the area of
agricultural development and food security of the BlackSea
region related to Food Safety for Trade Facilitation, Consumer
Protection and Harmonization as well as seeking FAO�s
contribution to the previously discussed Projects such as on
"Promotion of Beekeeping Among Low Income Rural Families for
supplementary earnings in the Black Sea" and others.
c)
World Bank
Taking into account the encouraging results of
the recent BSEC-World Bank meeting hosted jointly by the Greek
authorities and the ICBSS in Athens on March 10, 2003, the
Council invited BSEC PERMIS to prepare a draft MoU on
Cooperation between the BSEC and the World Bank based on the
contributions of the Member States, BSTDB and other interested
parties, and circulate it to the Member States.
d)
Coordination Meeting among the Regional
Organizations/Initiatives
The Council took note of the
"Agreed Minutes of the Coordination Meeting of Regional
Organizations" (Trieste, January 17, 2003) and acknowledged
the role such a Meeting could play in streamlining regional
cooperation and the implementation of regional projects. The
Council encouraged BSEC PERMIS to participate in the future
Coordination Meetings and exchange information with a view to
creating optimal conditions for cooperation among the regional
organizations and promoting the BSEC in this network.
e)
TRACECA
The Council took note of the information provided
by the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Secretary General on the
issue of cooperation with TRACECA and encouraged him to
continue the consultations with a view to elaborate the
relevant modalities for cooperation.
f) Black Sea
PETrA
The Council took note of the information, provided by
BSEC PERMIS, on the cooperation of BSEC with the Steering
Committee of the Black Sea Pan-European Transport Area (SC
Black Sea PETrA). The Council instructed BSEC PERMIS to keep a
track of the transport activities held by the SC Black Sea
PETrA.
Consideration of the Issues of the Draft Agreement
on Simplification of Visa Procedures for the Businessman
Nationals of the BSEC Member States, and the Draft Agreement
on Simplification of Visa Procedures for Professional Driver
Nationals of the BSEC Member States
The Council of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs appreciated the work accomplished
by the ad hoc Expert Group on Visa Simplification in
finalizing the Draft Agreement on Simplification of Visa
Procedures for the Businessmen Nationals of the BSEC Member
States, and took note of the completion of negotiations on
this document. The Council further invited the Member States
to take the required steps in order to be able to sign the
afore-mentioned Agreement and inform respectively BSEC PERMIS
on the completion of the said internal procedures. The Council
took note of the work accomplished by the ad hoc Expert Group
on Visa Simplification in elaborating the Draft Agreement on
Simplification of Visa Procedures for Professional Drivers
Nationals of the BSEC Member States and instructed the said ad
hoc Expert Group to continue its work in negotiating and
finalizing the said Draft Agreement
CALENDAR OF BSEC EVENTS
June 2003-October 2003
Meetings of the Council of
Ministers of Foreign Affairs
9th Meeting of the Council
Baku, Azerbaijan October 31
Meetings of the Committee of
Senior Officials
Meeting of the Committee of Senior
Officials for the
preparation of the draft documents of the
9th Meeting of
the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Baku, Azerbaijan October 29-30
Meetings of the Troika
System
Meeting of the Troika Baku, Azerbaijan October
28
Coordination Meetings
BSEC Coordination Meeting BSEC
Headquarters Istanbul,
Turkey October 9
Ministerial
Meetings
Meeting of the Ministers of Education (preceded
by the
relevant WG) Baku, Azerbaijan September
11-12
Meeting of the Ministers of Energy (preceded by
the
relevant WG) Baku, Azerbaijan September
18-19
Meeting of the Ministers of Transport (preceded by
the
relevant WG) Baku, Azerbaijan October 1-3
Working
Groups and Working Groups of Experts
Working Group on
Cooperation Emergency Assistance
BSEC Headquarters
Istanbul, Turkey August 27-28
BSEC Business
Council
Meeting of the Board of Directors of the BSEC
Business
Council Baku, Azerbaijan October 28
WORKSHOPS
AND SEMINARS
1st Workshop on BSEC-FAO Project on
"Institutional
Strengthening to Facilitate Inter and
Intra-regional
Agricultural Trade of the BSEC Member
States" BSEC
Headquarters, Istanbul, Turkey June
29
Workshop on "Institutional Renewal and
Governance"
Baku, Azerbaijan September 22-23
2nd
Workshop on BSEC-FAO Project on
"Institutional
Strengthening to Facilitate Inter and
Intra-regional
Agricultural Trade of the BSEC Member
States" BSEC
Headquarters, Istanbul, Turkey October 12-15
OTHER
Ad hoc Study Group on Stability and Security
BSEC
Headquarters, Istanbul, Turkey July 10-11
Meeting
of the Steering Committee of the Project
Development Fund
BSEC Headquarters, Istanbul, Turkey July 14-15
Conference
on Tourism Opportunities in the BSEC:
Upgrading Common
Potential Baku, Azerbaijan September
25-26 |
