Background

Closed seas play very diverse roles in relations between their bordering states: they unite and separate. They are places of transit, a shared –sometimes disputed- space, an element of joint identity, a common heritage.

Sub-regions provide an additional arena for the European Union to interact with its closest neighbours, where sub-regional cooperation, i.e. , international cooperation between states (and sub-state governments) in geographical groups which are smaller than a continent, provides a valuable complement to the EU’s foreign policy aim of peace, stability and prosperity.

The EU relations with its neighbourhood are an issue linked to the debates about the role of the EU as a global actor: model of governance, promoter of multilateralism, normative power or, even security power and the nature of its activities.

Objective

The Main goal of the EU4SEAS project is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the sub-regional multilateralism (notion and practice) in the four maritime basins (Mediterranean, Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas) as a specific approach for the EU in handling relations with those spaces. EU4SEAS will examine the development of sub-regional cooperation in its specific contexts as well as the EU’s impact on it.

To learn more, please visit project website at www.eu4seas.eu