Comparing the Baltic and Black Sea Regions: Regional Security, Energy Security andEuro-AtlanticIntegration

This report is based on material from the conference "European Security Comparing Experiences from the Baltic Sea and Black Sea Regions" which was organised by the Swedish-Ukrainian Security Forum in Kyiv 24 April 2007. The Swedish-Ukrainian Security Forum is a joint cooperation network led by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and the Centre for International Studies (CIRS), which activities have been sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Sweden. The report discusses these two regions´security along three different aspects: Regional Security, energy security and Euro-Atlantic integration, the report covers both theoretical and practical aspects of regional security laying conceptual foundations and providing some real life applications. The report shows that, historically, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea axis was emerging from time to time to create a framework dealing with security in the region. While these processes have always lacked institutional backing, there is an obvious need today to improve and deepen the dialog by developing a mechanism for early identification, analysis and solving possible security threats.