ІНІЦІАТИВА «ТРИМОР’Я» ЯК СТРАТЕГІЧНИЙ ПРОЄКТ «НОВОЇ» ЄВРОПИ

Abstract

Today, the "Three Seas" initiative unites 12 Central European states in the space from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas. Its members are: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. Participating countries with a population of 111 million people account for almost a third of the territory of the European Union. The article describes the reasons and prerequisites for the creation of the Trimore initiative. The evolution of the Three Seas initiative from its inception to 2022 is followed. It is determined that the key concept of the initiative is based on the global confrontation, which intensified after Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea. At the present stage, the idea of unification of states from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic seas, as it was at its inception, is actively supported by the United States of America. The article identifies the main problems of the Three Seas. The transformation of the attitude of the European Union to this program is defined. The author points out that Poland's attempts to realize its historical Central European ambitions led to the formation of the image of the new Central Europe as a component of the transatlantic community. The author makes an attempt to determine the functionality and competitiveness of the new association in relation to other numerous regional entities. The creation of the Trimore, like some other modern Central European regional projects, in particular the Visegrad Group, did not go without the approval of the USA. The role and purpose of these regional structures are different, and their functioning depends on whether they find their special niche. After all, the Central European initiative evolved over three decades only into a regional forum of a larger format, but of lesser significance. Only the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war led to the intensification of the dialogue between the participants of the Three Seas in order to ensure their own energy independence from the Russian Federation.