The Baku Initiative is an international initiative of the

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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. It is a policy dialogue on energy and transport cooperation between the

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the former Soviet republics, undertaken as part of the INOGATE energy and TRACECA transport programmes.

History

The Baku Initiative originated from the

European Neighbourhood Policy The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the European territory of the EU to the Union. These countries include some who seek ...

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 sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and their neighbours was held in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. 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 programme. A second Ministerial Conference following up the Energy Initiative was held in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

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

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, 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 An energy market is a type of commodity market on which electricity, heat, and fuel products are traded. Natural gas and electricity are examples of products traded on an energy market. Other energy commodities include: oil, coal, carbon emission ...

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 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 the 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, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

and the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

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 Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, the members are the former

republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Structure

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

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

(Directorate General for Transport & Energy; Directorate General for External Relations, and EuropeAid Cooperation Office). The INOGATE Technical Secretariat (which is located in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, with a regional office in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

covering the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

) co-ordinates the energy aspects on behalf of the Commission and the TRACECA Secretariat, (which is located in Baku with a regional office in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

) performs the same function for the transport aspects.

Critics

Frank Umbach of the Centre for European Security Strategies, has 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 European Commission projects