ForMin Melescanu says NATO, EU play significant part in ensuring Black Sea, Balkans security

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Thursday that both the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the European Union (EU) play a significant part in ensuring security in the Black Sea region and in the Balkans. Attending an international conference called "Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum," hosted by the Black Sea resort of Mamaia June 12-14, Melescanu said that both NATO and the EU should take advantage of "their strengths". "Both NATO and the European Union have a significant role to play in ensuring the security of these two regions [the Black Sea and the Balkans]. Both NATO and the EU must take advantage of their strengths and do what they know to do the best when they place the Black Sea on their dialogue agenda. We believe that both NATO and the EU already have all the necessary tools (...) to foster co-operation among the countries in the region but also between these countries and NATO and the European Union," said Melescanu. According to him, NATO reaffirmed the idea of increasing security beyond its borders. "The North Atlantic Alliance has a similar approach to the two regions; their tools are designed to steadily improve NATO's work. (...) In response to the ever-changing security context, the last to date NATO summit reaffirmed the idea of developing stability beyond its borders by providing support to its partners and engaging with aspiring NATO member states in, thereby enhancing relations with partner countries in the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region, including the continuation of the famous door-to-door policy. NATO is open to partners who want to join it and seek active support, including the support package and the capacity-building initiative for Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the NATO-Ukraine Platform on Countering Hybrid Warfare," Melescanu said. Regarding the EU, he underscored that the Western Balkan countries need to get integrated with the Union. "The Black Sea region will face the same issues - limited or insufficient economic development, negative democratic trends and brain drain, as well as challenges we face because of climate change and fragile environmental conditions in the region. From our point of view, the European Union can play a significant role by helping both regions to mitigate the above-mentioned risks. The European approach and tools are very different from those used by NATO (...) We do not believe that Europe is whole as long as the countries of the Western Balkans are not inside the European Union. Our destinies are related to the Western Balkans and we must strive for their integration as a strategic necessity for the European Union," Melescanu maintained. NATO and EU officials, representatives of organisations responsible for foreign affairs and national security, and academics are taking part in the three-day international conference "Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum." The Regional Security Forum brings to Romania specialists with extensive professional experience to discuss the standard and emerging security challenges in the Black Sea region and the Balkans region, according to a press statement released by the Constanta City Hall. This third edition of the event is organised by the New Strategy Centre, in partnership with Ovidius University in Constanta and the Constanta Metropolitan Area. AGERPRES (RO - author: Nona Jalba, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)