The Commission on the Black Sea is an initiative which aims to contribute to a joint vision and common strategy for the Black Sea region by developing new knowledge on areas of key concern. The Commission defines the Black Sea region as constituted by the following ten countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Throughout 2009, the Commission will carry out a policy-oriented study on the future of the Black Sea region to be presented in a comprehensive report. At the same time, the Commission will also make related policy recommendations addressed to the main actors in the Black Sea context.
The Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the Unites States (GMFUS BST), Bucharest; the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh/Germany; the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), Ankara; and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), Athens; jointly developed the project and launched it in January 2009.