05/28/2025 The European Union, in order to strengthen its geopolitical role as a reliable player in the Black Sea region, launched its first strategy designed to ensure the stable and safe development of the Black Sea region. This strategy aims to enhance the United Europe’s links with the South Caucasus, Central Asia and other regions. In addition, the EU strategy for the Black Sea region became a kind of response of Europe to Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is assumed that, thanks to investments and deepening of mutually beneficial partnerships, this strategy will bring tangible benefits to both the EU and its Black Sea partners, primarily Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
According to the indicated strategy, future cooperation with the Black Sea region is structured in three directions: (1) strengthening security, stability and resilience; (2) promoting growth and prosperity; (3) promoting environmental protection, resilience to climate change, as well as civil protection. Within the framework of the first direction, the EU plans to create a «Center for Maritime Security in the Black Sea», whose activities should strengthen security in the water area, protect critical maritime infrastructure and the marine environment, strengthen regional cooperation on demining and eliminate risks to the environment. On September 1, 2025, the President of Romania, Nikushor Dan, after a meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that his country is ready to place the «Maritime Safety Center in the Black Sea» on its territory. Moreover, Romania proposed to place the future Center next to the «Mihai Kogelnicanu» air base, which will soon become the largest NATO military base in Europe, and therefore the eventual neighborhood of this facility and the future «Center for Maritime Security in the Black Sea», created by the EU, will make sense from a geostrategic point of view.
It is assumed that the basis for the first steps within the framework of the Center’s activities will be the successful cooperation of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey within the framework of the coalition for demining the waters of the Black Sea, filled with Russian sea mines, which were installed in large numbers by the Russian Navy around a number of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea coast and at the mouth of the Danube River. In particular, we are talking about such port cities as Odesa, Chornomorsk, Pivdenny, Reni and Izmail. Addressing the problem of free-drifting sea mines (which were relegated far from the Ukrainian coast to the open sea as a result of storms), official Sofia, Bucharest and Ankara established the exchange of profile information, expanded coast guard cooperation, began to provide early warning services of the European Maritime Safety Agency to Ukraine and other partners, made more strict supervision of critical maritime infrastructure (underwater cables, pipelines, wind energy facilities, etc.). The EU considers the creation of the «Maritime Security Center in the Black Sea» as a priority project, given that Russia continues to carry out military aggression against Ukraine and works to strengthen its Black Sea Fleet with maritime robotic systems and aircraft, and also continues to transform the territory of the Crimean peninsula occupied by it into a giant military base. As the European Commission emphasizes, allies within the framework of the EU and NATO should prevent the hypothetical transformation of the Black Sea into a Russian lake. Therefore, Brussels expresses hope that the Center, the creation of which the European Union is currently working on, will help strengthen regional cooperation between the EU and NATO in the Black Sea region, which from now on will be considered one of the key regions of the EC. At the same time, as experts warn, it is extremely important that the Center does not become another EU institution with significant responsibilities «on paper», but limited influence and modest activity in practice.
In addition to Putin’s destructive actions in the Black Sea basin, China is also strengthening its influence in the region. In particular, the PRC is building the huge port of Anaklia (Georgia) as part of its global infrastructure initiative «Belt and Road». Beijing is also actively increasing its presence in Armenia, considering it as its strategic partner in the region. In April 2025, China appointed a new ambassador to Armenia, who, unlike his predecessors, had no experience working in Russia, but instead worked for the central foreign policy commission of the Chinese Communist Party, which is responsible for developing global and regional strategies. Armenia, for its part, has announced its intention to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where China plays a key role. These facts testify to the serious approach of the People’s Republic of China to Armenia as a component of its zone of influence and to Beijing’s intention to gain a foothold through Yerevan in the South Caucasus and the Black Sea region. Цілком очевидно, що створюваний Євросоюзом Центр має долучити до своєї діяльності також Турецьку Республіку й Україну, які є кандидатами на вступ до ЄС. Зокрема, Туреччина як член НАТО, бере участь у вищезгаданій ініціативі з розмінування та володіє потужним військово-морським флотом. У свою чергу, Україна спромоглася завдати значної шкоди Чорноморському флоту РФ за допомогою ракет, безпілотників і морських дронів (що відкрило нову сторінку в історії морських війн). Асиметричні зусилля військово-морських сил України варто брати на озброєння та інтегрувати у військову доктрину Північноатлантичного альянсу. Відтак, майбутній Центр має стати не інституцією для обслуговування потреб суто Євросоюзу, а широкою платформою, на якій свої зусилля зможуть об’єднати країни ЄС, члени НАТО та прозахідні держави Чорноморського регіону.
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