Coutto, TatianaDevlen, Balkan2023-06-162023-06-1620141944-89531944-8961https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2014.928537https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14365/1791The European Union's (EU) environmental concerns vis-a-vis the Black Sea stem from various factors such as: the quest of the EU to reaffirm itself as a global actor; the development of the legal-institutional framework that regulates the relations between the EU and its near abroad; and the enlargement process, which provided the EU with direct access to the Black Sea shores. Following an institutionalist approach, this paper analyses how the EU's concerns, strategies and institutional/policy responses to tackle environmental problems in the region have evolved over time. Drawing on the concept of actorness', it discusses to what extent the adoption of an effective EU-led approach to environmental issues may strengthen the role of the EU in the region and elsewhere.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessBalkansArticle10.1080/19448953.2014.9285372-s2.0-84904549102