Dimitrios Triantaphyllou

Energy Security and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): The Wider Black Sea Area Context

There is a growing interest in the European Union (EU) in defending its energy interests through the use of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) instruments. This derives from the fact that the EU already relies on external sources for 50 per cent of its energy needs while most estimates suggest this will rise to 90 per cent for oil and 70 per cent for gas by 2030. Energy security in the European context is a particularly interesting case study given the number of issues at play. It involves the security of supply, the security of demand, the reliability of contractual arrangements on energy, the physical security of critical installations and their personnel, the interplay between national and supranational energy policies, and the quality of overall relations with Russia. With regard to the wider Black Sea area, it has to take into account the recent developments such as greater EU involvement in that part of the world. In other words, it involves a number of variables and possible outcomes including the linkage between EU foreign policy and energy policy. Ultimately, whether CFSP can successfully be used in terns of energy security remains to be seen.

The ‘security paradoxes’ of the Black Sea region

The international order has entered a new era that is characterized by dramatic changes, in terms of both structure and process. Within this evolving non‐polar world, the emergence of the Black Sea as a region and as a geopolitical hub is undeniable; yet the issues at hand are many, complex and challenging. A number of key paradoxes that have shaped the profile of the region to date, and will continue to define its future, are ever more clearly making their presence felt. This article attempts to illustrate and bring to the surface these paradoxes, namely the interplay between economic growth/subregionalism versus ethnonationalism/security dilemmas and the ‘neighbourhood perception paradox’. The purpose is to help assess the current state of play and address the key questions for the future of the region.

Assessing Turkey's “Soft Power” Role: Rhetoric versus Practice

Turkeys proactive foreign policy directed at assuming a regional or even global “soft power” role has created heated debate. This development may be explained as the result of the Europeanisation of Turkish political culture and its impact on foreign policy behaviour, as a globalisation trend, as a bargaining card towards the West or even as an alternative foreign policy option. Arguably, the ideas of Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkeys new foreign minister, have contributed at the level of rhetoric; meanwhile, the emphasis of the countrys foreign policy on its eastern neighbourhood seems to have less to do with the ruling partys religious premises, than with a rational choice towards the development of an independent foreign policy agenda. It remains to be seen whether this change in rhetoric in Turkish foreign policy will develop into a substantial shift in practice.

The NATO–EU–Turkey trilogy: the impact of the Cyprus conundrum

The Cyprus conundrum presents a major challenge to western security structures and relationships in particular with regard to Turkey’s European Union (EU) accession process and the stalled Berlin plus arrangements between NATO and the EU. This article argues that the Cyprus question is neither the sole reason for blocking the progress, nor is its resolution the panacea for unblocking the interwoven stalemate in the NATO–EU and the EU–Turkey relationships. In this context, this article will first provide a brief synopsis of the history of relations between Turkey and the EU as well as between the EU and NATO; and the gridlocks within these relationships with specific sections on the role of the Cyprus issue. It will then question whether or not the Cyprus issue is the decisive catalyst for blocking progress in the NATO–EU–Turkey triangle, through a thorough study on the relevance of other internal and external forces at play.

A 2020 vision for the Black Sea region: the Commission on the Black Sea proposes

The Black Sea region is coming into its own although it is at times a contested and dangerous neighbourhood. Despite heightened interest in the region, its real priorities and needs are still being largely ignored by insiders and outsiders alike. What is needed are regional solutions for regional problems. The authors present the key findings and recommendations of the Commission on the Black Sea, a civil society initiative comprising a number of current and former policy‐makers, scholars and practitioners both from within the region and from outside, with the purpose of contributing to a joint vision and a common strategy for the Black Sea region by developing new knowledge in areas of key concern.

The Priorities of Greek Foreign Policy Today

This article provides a tour d’horizon of Greek foreign policy where four of its dimensions are assessed in depth. These include the Europeanisation of Greek foreign policy, relations with Turkey, the state of affairs in the Balkans and the Euro‐Atlantic context. The author attempts to explain the impact of these aforementioned contexts by exploring the degree to which Greece has successfully defended its national interests, but he also warns of the need for adaptation to the new global threats that have particularly emerged since 9/11. These new ‘functional’ threats and concerns imply a readjustment of the regional approach to foreign policy that Greece has traditionally pursued.

The Black Sea Region: The Neighbourhood too Close to, yet still Far from the European Union

The idea for this special issue derived from the acknowledgement of a scantiness of academic references on the European Union’s (EU) policies towards the Black Sea, when compared to the significance of this region for the Union as reflected in the voluminous EU official documents. The Black Sea region has been of crucial importance for the EU because of the opportunities and challenges that the region encompasses for EUpolitics and theUnion’s socio-economic features. Since the 2004– 2007 enlargements brought the EU to the shores of the Black Sea, mostly to the remaining former Soviet space, the EU has actively engaged in developing its vision towards the region through a number of tools, such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Black Sea Synergy (BSS), the Eastern Partnership (EaP) and a few other foreign policy instruments. On the one hand, the EU is not seen as a consistent actor with clear and credible objectives from the introverted lenses of the regional actors. On the other, most of the Black Sea countries desire more EU involvement in the region, perceiving the EU route as the most viable for regional prosperity, development, security and cooperation. Even though the EU plays a vital role in Black Sea political agendas, EU–Black Sea cooperation is not extensively covered by academic discussions and literature. This is mostly due to the fact that the EU’s focus on foreign affairs is mainly associated with the Balkans as part of the current and potential widening perspective and the Middle East as a direct consequence of the Arab upheavals. In addition, the region is mostly studied through a particular focus on the intra-regional cooperation dynamics and its chronic problems in political, societal and economic realms. In other words, the EU is not a fully fledged studied actor; and its prospects for the region are an underdeveloped research area. The most recent comprehensive volume on the EU and the Black Sea is The Black Sea Region and EU Policy: The Challenge of Divergent Agendas, a volume edited by Karen Henderson and Carol Weaver which was published in 2010.

The European Union and the Black Sea Region in Search of a Narrative or a New Paradigm

The European Union (EU) has over time formulated and implemented various policies to address its Eastern neighbourhood and, in particular, the Black Sea region; yet, it still finds itself in search of the right mix of policy and strategy towards its neighbours to the East. With the post-Cold War goal posts shifting to reflect the growing realist approach of its biggest neighbour, the Russian Federation, toward their shared neighbourhood, the EU finds itself in a quandary regarding its ability to react and to postulate proactive policies that reflect its engagement. The post-Vilnius Summit environment echoes the urgency of the exercise and the dilemmas that present themselves for the Union. The tugs of war between Russia and the EU and to a lesser extent between the EU and Turkey are at the core of the challenge of transforming the Black Sea region from being a ‘grey zone of instability’ to one of peace, freedom, security and prosperity. This could only come about if the EU could construct a common narrative that meets the demands and expectations of its member states and institutions as well as those of its partners in the Black Sea region.

Apropos NATO’s first enlargement

This Special Issue aims to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the entry of Greece and Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the ninth session of the North Atlantic Council held in Lisbon in February 1952. The accession of both countries represented the first enlargement of the Atlantic Alliance in an environment very different from the contemporary one. Nevertheless, the interplay between the two countries in their independent yet related quests to join western political and security structures after the end of the Second World War is still relevant and pertinent to this day. As Southern flank states with perilous external borders facing a variety of threats, both real and perceived, the NATO connection has served to glue them to the West. As Hatzivassiliou states in his text: