Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea
The Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea (CMA) is a sea basin initiative that aims at supporting regional cooperation for a more sustainable Blue Economy in the Black Sea and it is developed in the broader framework of the Black Sea Strategy. Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Republic of Türkiye and Ukraine, all BSEC Member States, are the initial participating countries.[1]
The CMA is a unique framework of regional cooperation on the Blue Economy and it was endorsed on 21 May 2019 at Ministerial level. It is complemented by its scientific pillar, the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the Black Sea (SRIA), supported by the European External Service and the European Commission, the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission (DG RTD). In 2025 CMA adopted the new EU documents for Black Sea - the Joint Communication to European Parliament and the Council about the European Union's strategic approach to the Black Sea region (May, 2025) and the European Ocean Pact (June 2025).
The CMA sets 3 goals - 1. Healthy marine ecosystems; 2. Innovative Blue Economy; 3. Investment – and 10 priorities further declined into actions. Future cooperation with the Black Sea region is structured under three pillars: Enhancing security, stability, and resilience; Fostering sustainable growth and prosperity; Promoting environmental protection, climate change resilience and preparedness, and civil protection.
The Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the EU Commission (DG MARE) accompanies the process as a full member of the CMA Steering Group, while the political coordination is ensured by CMA MS Ministerial meetings.
The CMA implementation started in 2020 and the first coordinator was Republic of Bulgaria. In 2021 the CMA SG was coordinated by the Republic of Türkiye, in 2022 - by Georgia, in 2023 – by Romania in 2024 by Moldova, in 2025 by Ukraine. The coordinator for 2026 will be Republic of Bulgaria.
The CMA implementation is supported also at local level by the National Hubs of the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism (BSAM).
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the Permanent Secretariat of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (BSC) are consultative bodies of the CMA Steering Group.
The Secretariat of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) and the Managing Authority of the Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin are CMA observers.
[1] From 2022 Russian Federation is excluded from the CMA.