14th International Black Sea Symposium
Black Sea: Approaching a tipping point?
Tuesday 2 December 2025 | Online
Press-release | Video
The International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) launched the International Black Sea Symposium project with the aim to provide a platform for dialogue and transnational cooperation in the wider Black Sea region. The 14th International Black Sea Symposium (IBSS) built on the success and positive impact of its previous editions and brought together 90 regional and international stakeholders with an interest in the Black Sea region to explore the evolving geopolitical landscape, its ripple effects, and broader implications for the wider region.
The event served as a platform for dialogue to exchange on emerging challenges and opportunities; assess the strategies and interests of major actors, including the Black Sea countries, the BSEC Organisation, the EU, and other regional cooperation frameworks; and foster policy recommendations aimed at strengthening resilience in response to changing geopolitical dynamics.
The 14th IBSS included three interactive panels that featured senior policy stakeholders and key experts, who shared insights and views from the perspective of regional actors, the Black Sea countries and neighbouring regions to the Black Sea, i.e. the Central Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Key takeaways:
- Cooperation above all -above confrontations and despite the war. Cooperation of all involved actors and across sectors.
- The aftermath of the war in relation to economy, society and more importantly the environmental recovery are pivotal for the entire region, and should remain and promoted in the discussions at national and regional levels.
- The geostrategic location of the Black Sea makes it a point of dispute, especially when it comes to competition over trade corridors.
- The youth is the future and should be supported with trainings and collaborative initiatives.
- Fields of cooperation are identified: demining of the Black Sea, water resources management, digitalisation and the increasing use of AI in sectors other than military, blue economy, trade and connectivity.
- Conflicts unveiled the fragility of political systems and of efforts for regional integration, especially an economic integration.
- The EU’s influential role and presence in the region is important for shaping regional dynamics.
- Existing cooperation frameworks, like the BSEC organisation, the 3Seas Initiative, have the potential to assume a central role to support cooperation and resilience across regions.
