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1. WHAT ABOUT THE ADRIATIC ?

Author:
Sandro Knezović
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:
Special bond between humans and ‘big waters’ is most probably as old as the mankind itself. Not only that the seas provided inspiration for mythology and even religions, but they also facilitated trade and commerce and connected people with different cultural backgrounds. The development of means of water transport has contributed substantially to that. People began trading with items others did not have or, in some cases, have not seen at all. Apart from cultural exchange, this prompted the economic one as well and small ports started attracting many merchants from distant places, representing cradles of capitalism. The same applies for the Adriatic, where different cultures, religions and even political systems were intertwined. It is no wonder therefore that cities like Dubrovnik and Split were actually more linked with cities like Ancona and Venice than to cities like Skopje or Belgrade, even during the time when they actually belonged to the same state together with last two. The structure and complexity of the terrain in the Balkan Peninsula obviously also contributed to that.
Topic:
Environment, Regional Cooperation, and Water
Political Geography:
Europe, Southern Europe, and Adriatic Sea

2. IRMO Brief 02/16

Author:
Janko Bekić and Marina Funduk
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:
On 29 September 2015, representatives of twelve Central and Eastern European countries held the �irst exploratory meeting of the Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea (ABB) Initiative, aimed at strengthening the political and economic cooperation of EU member states located between the three seas. The meeting was held in New York, on the sidelines of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, under the initiative of Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. The other heads of state attending the meeting were Polish president Andrzej Duda, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis and Bulgarian president Rosen Plevneliev. Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia dispatched ministers of foreign affairs, whereas Austria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic were represented on a lower level. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Atlantic Council think tank. Bolstering cooperation between Central European states on the north-south axis has been the declared foreign policy goal of Croatian president Grabar-Kitarović ever since she assumed of�ice in February 2015 . Bolstering cooperation between Central European states on the north-south axis has been the declared foreign policy goal of Croatian president Grabar-Kitarović ever since she assumed of�ice in February 2015. Since then, she has found a staunch ally in Polish president Duda, who took of�ice in August of that same year and stressed that he was striving for the creation of a partner bloc between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. This development is noteworthy for two reasons: �irstly, it represents a widening of the foreign policies of their predecessors – Ivo Josipović of Croatia and Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland. In his �ive-year term, Josipović focused mainly on reinvigorating the ties among former Yugoslav republics, whereas Komorowski concentrated on aligning Warsaw’s interests with those of the European Union’s leading capitals, Berlin and London.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Croatia, Central Europe, Baltic Sea, Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea