The 15 judges (including two arbitrators independently proposed by the parties) will now retire to consider their decision, not expected before 2009.
Media reporting on the issue in both Romania and Ukraine has largely ignored the fact that its resolution will remove a significant irritant from the bilateral relationship and help improve interaction between Bucharest and Kyiv at a time when this is urgently needed as a result of events in Georgia, their respective Black Sea neighbor.
As foreign minister of Romania at the time of the signing of the 1997 Border Treaty between Romania and Ukraine, I agreed with my Ukrainian counterpart, Hennadiy Udovenko, to include a provision whereby Romania or Ukraine could refer the contentious maritime border issue to the International Court in The Hague if bilateral negotiations did not deliver a result. Despite 34 rounds of negotiation, Romania and Ukraine were unable to agree on how to delimit the maritime border and Romania took the case to the International Court in 2004.
Of course, both sides would have liked to have solved the issue bilaterally. However, the International Court will provide for a fair and civilized resolution of the dispute that goes back as far as the days of the Soviet Union.
Both Romania and Ukraine have committed themselves to implement the decision of the International Court. I think that it is worth reflecting on the civilized and mature way in which Romania and Ukraine are approaching their unresolved issue.
We have seen the other extreme recently in Georgia, where a so-called “frozen conflict” erupted into war. This demonstrates to me that Romania and Ukraine have a shared security culture, and I believe that this common interest will be vitally important in the coming years as Ukraine seeks to pursue its course of integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.
It is important to consider what the International Court’s ruling will deliver. Firstly, it will provide a fair and reasoned judgment that will benefit both parties. This is definitely not a zero-sum game. Indeed, after the end of the procedure both Romania and Ukraine will be able to develop their respective parts of the subsurface of the Black Sea that have been off limits pending the resolution of the dispute.
Although there are believed to be significant oil and gas deposits in this area, their scale and economics need to be studied in detail. There may be opportunities for collaboration in exploiting these resources.
Secondly, closure of the issue will allow Romania and Ukraine to concentrate on the broader challenges to security and stability in the Black Sea region. Romania is not only a friend of Ukraine but a committed supporter of the country’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic area.
Ukraine’s ability to stand on its own two feet and make its own choices is central to future regional security arrangements. Former Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the NATO Summit in Bucharest in April that introducing the issue of NATO could bring Ukraine to the point where its “statehood could be called into question.” The Russian side has never clarified the meaning of this statement but it has continued to state that it will do everything it can to stop Ukraine joining the military alliance.
This is not for Russia to decide. It is an issue that lies at the heart of a country’s sovereignty and must, in this case, be left to the citizens of Ukraine. No country large or small has the right to deny Ukraine this choice.
Similarly, Russia has no business to declare Ukraine or any other close neighbor part of a zone of its “privileged interests.” If it wants to build close and constructive relations with these countries, that is another matter.
Just as Romania supports Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, it is also firmly behind its efforts to become a member of the European Union. Along with many Romanians, I was disappointed that the recent EU-Ukraine Summit did not offer Ukraine a tangible prospect of membership at a time when this is urgently needed.
This was a missed opportunity that risks further magnifying doubts in Ukrainian society that the country really is welcome in Europe. Ukraine needs to see doors that are open rather than shut.
At the same time, Ukraine needs to demonstrate greater resolve and unity in pursuit of its aims. Ukraine’s leaders must recognize there are limits to the political divisions that Ukrainian society can tolerate. Pursued to their extreme, these also have a strongly negative impact on the efforts of Ukraine to draw closer to Western institutions.
In this respect, the resolution of the maritime border dispute between Romania and Ukraine is too important to be the subject of internal politics in either country. Leaders in both have a responsibility to present a consensus view of the issue to society based on facts. This will ensure respect for whatever decision the International Court delivers and reinforce the basis for taking relations forward and unlocking more of their potential.
As a new member of both NATO and the EU, Romania is well-placed to assist Ukraine on the long road to making itself compatible with both institutions. We know from our own experience the effort and commitment required. We have much readily transferable expertise and we are well-placed to support Ukraine in arguing its case, since we are close neighbors by land and sea borders. We sense the pressure that Ukraine now feels as a result of the events in Georgia.
What Ukraine needs least of all, it is now experiencing in the form of increasing anti-Western sentiment in Russia and a further deterioration of Russia’s relations with the West. It should not be forgotten that Ukraine also has a dispute with Russia about its Black Sea boundary and, unlike the situation with Romania, there is no possibility that this will be resolved in The Hague.
Similarly, there are several voices in Russia suggesting that the Russia-Ukraine State Treaty signed in 1997 (the same year as Romania’s Treaty with Ukraine) that recognizes Ukraine’s territorial integrity could be reopened if Ukraine were to join NATO.
This is a disturbing prospect; the maritime border dispute with Romania is something very minor in comparison. It is being resolved in The Hague in a civilized, fair and mutually respectful way in line with international practice. This is what allies and good neighbors do when they cannot settle complex issues on their own and it sets the stage for future strategic cooperation between Romania and Ukraine.
In the long run, Ukraine will benefit more from Romania’s support and friendship than from a few additional square kilometers of the sea shelf.
Adrian Severin is a member of the European Parliament and chairman of the delegation to the European Union-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. He was the foreign minister of Romania from 1996 to 1997.
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