The Bucharest Convention itself is a legal and diplomatic tool for joint action and does not set out to establish environmental policy goals (e.g. targets for reducing the loads of specific pollutants etc.). It also does not establish any regulatory mechanism for exploitation or development of the natural environment (e.g. straddled marine resources or specially protected areas). In order to develop a common policy framework, a clear "Declaration of Environmental Quality Objectives" was considered necessary.

Following the initiative of the Government of Ukraine and employing the stewardship of UNEP, a Ministerial Declaration was formulated during nine months of negotiations and signed by all six countries in Odessa in April 1993 (the “ Odessa Declaration”). This Declaration was a pragmatic and innovative policy statement that sets environmental goals and a time frame to guide management regimes and associated investments. It was the first policy agreement on regional seas to reflect the philosophy of UNCED, Agenda 21, and features a heavy emphasis on accountability, periodic review and public awareness. These features represented a major conceptual shift in a public statement from countries of the region, particularly those emerging from totalitarianism.

The Declaration was designed to provide a basis for a flexible but continuous process for taking decisions on coordinated national action towards common goals at present and in the future. Its clear objectives and specific time-frames were to guide and stimulate implementation of the Bucharest Convention.