European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

INOGATE INOGATE was an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union (EU), the littoral states of the Black and Caspian seas and their neighbouring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016. INOGATE was one of ...

TRACECA TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian region.European Neighbourhood Policy launched in 2004. On 13 November 2004, the First Ministerial Conference on Energy Cooperation between the EU and the littoral states of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

,

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

and their neighbours was held in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

. Conclusions of this conference became known as the Baku Initiative. At the same time, a Transport Ministerial conference was held, resulting in a formal announcement on 14 November, supporting the framework of the EU

TRACECA TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian region.Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

, Kazakhstan on 30 November 2006. A second Transport Ministerial Conference was held in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Bulgaria on 2–3 May 2006.European Commission Transport Directorate website
Baku Initiative
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Objectives

Energy

The Initiative aims to enhance integration of the energy markets of participating countries with the EU energy market so as to create transparent energy markets, capable of attracting investment as well as enhancing security of energy supply. Some authors describe this aim as European funding and investment for infrastructure development in return for a guarantee of supplies to European markets. The objectives of the initiative are harmonisation of legal and technical standards so as to create a functioning integrated energy market in accordance with EU and international legal and regulatory frameworks; increasing the safety and security of energy supplies by extending and modernising existing infrastructure; substituting old and inefficient power generation infrastructures with environmentally friendly power generation infrastructures; developing new infrastructures and implementing a modern monitoring system of their operation; improvement of energy supply and demand management through the integration of efficient and sustainable energy systems; and promoting the financing of commercially and environmentally viable energy projects of common interest. A road map to achieve these objectives was adopted at the Astana Ministerial Conference. The road map lists following priorities: * Enhancing energy security addressing demand, supply and transit; * Supporting sustainable energy development; * Attracting investment; * Converging of energy markets on the basis of EU internal energy market principles. These activities were financed through the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially fo ...

and the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solution ...

.

Transport

According to the EU Transport Directorate, "The Baku Initiative aims to give an impulse to Trans-European transport cooperation on the basis of the mutual interest for the progressive integration of their respective transport networks and markets in accordance with EU and international legal and regulatory frameworks. It provides a supportive framework for TRACECA to foster the reflection on the cooperation between the EU-Black Sea/Caspian littoral States and their Neighbours, and to ensure the consistency with the EU priorities in the context of its Neighbourhood Policy. Following the conclusions reached at the EU-Caspian region Transport Ministerial Conference on 14 November 2004 in Baku, 4 expert working groups have been created (aviation, security in all modes of transport, road and rail transport, transport infrastructure)." Following the Sofia meeting in 2006, a fifth working group was added, dealing with maritime transport.

Partner countries of the Baku Initiative

The partner countries of the transport and energy aspects and issues of the Baku Initiative are listed below. Aside from Turkey, the majority of the members are the

former A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

republics of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

:

Structure

The European Union follows the progress of the Baku Initiative through the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

(Directorate General for Transport & Energy; Directorate General for External Relations, and EuropeAid Cooperation Office). The

INOGATE INOGATE was an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union (EU), the littoral states of the Black and Caspian seas and their neighbouring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016. INOGATE was one of ...

Technical Secretariat (which is located in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

, with a regional office in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

covering the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

) co-ordinates the energy aspects on behalf of the Commission and the

TRACECA TRACECA (acronym: Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian region.Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

) performs the same function for the transport aspects.

Critics

Some experts, e.g. Frank Umbach of Centre for European Security Strategies, have criticised the Baku Initiative and other policies towards the Caspian region for concentrating too much on the technical cooperation instead of seeking a more strategic long-term cooperation.

References

External links

Baku Initiative (European Commission (DG TREN))

Ministerial Declaration on Enhanced energy co-operation between the EU, the Littoral States of the Black and Caspian Seas and their neighbouring countries
30 November 2006, Astana
Results of the 2nd Meeting of the Working Groups in 2006 on the ‘Baku Initiative’
INOGATE Secretariat, 16 July 2006 {{portal bar, Asia, Europe, European Union, Energy, Transport Energy policies and initiatives of the European Union International energy organizations Transport and the European Union Energy in Azerbaijan Energy in Armenia Energy in Georgia (country) Energy in Kazakhstan Energy in Kyrgyzstan Energy in Moldova Energy in Tajikistan Energy in Uzbekistan Energy in Romania Energy in Turkey Energy in Turkmenistan Energy in Ukraine Transport in Bulgaria Transport in Azerbaijan Transport in Armenia Transport in Georgia (country) Transport in Kazakhstan Transport in Kyrgyzstan Transport in Moldova Transport in Tajikistan Transport in Uzbekistan Transport in Romania Transport in Turkey Transport in Turkmenistan Transport in Ukraine Post-Soviet alliances European Commission projects