The first steering committee meetings for the newly launched EU-funded BCSEA II Project were held on 22 November 2022 in hybrid mode. The Beneficiary countries Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, representatives from DG NEAR, DG MARE, DG MOVE as well as observers from the BS MoU Secretariat, the Bulgarian Maritime Administration and the Romanian Naval Authority participated in the event.

The European Commission’s Directorates informed the audience about the latest policy developments in the Black and Caspian Sea basins.

All Beneficiary Countries expressed their appreciation to EMSA and the Contracting Authority DG NEAR for the continuous support in the areas of maritime safety, security and marine environment protection and highlighted the importance of the Project in building up their national capacities, thus fostering the appropriate implementation of the international instruments.

The BCSEA II 2022 - 2023 Action plan was discussed and endorsed by the Steering Committee members from the beneficiaries’ side. The actions proposed both in a regional and bilateral perspective build upon the achievements under the previous BCSEA Project and are the result of a series of coordination meetings with all beneficiaries following a bottom-up approach.