The economic challenges of the Black Sea region: the global financial crisis and energy sector cooperation

The post-Communist countries of the Black Sea region are divided into two groups - 'leaders' (those which are members of the European Union [EU]) and 'outsiders' (those which are still far from European standards of market economy). The role of the human factor in delaying economic reforms and that of the modern financial crisis are discussed. For energy cooperation in the region, it is very important to change the language of 'alternative pipelines' to 'pipeline harmonization', given that the purpose is to develop a partnership mechanism to facilitate and harmonise the support of energy suppliers in response to the identified needs of the particular countries.