President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen was in Romania and Bulgaria on 9 and 10 November on a visit to the Black Sea region to reiterate the Commission's full support and solidarity in light of the increasing threats, attacks and incursions in the region. As the President highlighted: "The skies over the Black Sea have darkened, particularly in recent weeks with drone attacks. (…) Now, drones are sinking commercial ships, setting vessels ablaze and killing civilians. Lives are lost at sea, navigation is disrupted, and the cost of insurance is skyrocketing."
In the face of these threats, the President emphasised Europe's solidarity with both Member States, "because Black Sea security is European security." In this context, President von der Leyen stressed the need to operationalise the Black Sea Maritime Hub.
The President took part in press conferences in Bucharest and Varna with President Nicuşor Dan and Prime Minister Rumen Radev. On both occasions, she highlighted five points. First, she insisted on restoring and preserving freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, highlighting the vital naval trade routes and their importance for Ukraine's economy and global food security. Secondly, she underlined the strengthening of maritime surveillance. While acknowledging work remains to be done on the matter, President von der Leyen pointed out the added value of satellite imagery provided by Copernicus.
Third, the President insisted on strengthening security in the information space. Detailing how drone incidents often come hand in hand with foreign information manipulation and interference, she declared: "This is not just a communication challenge; this is a security risk. (…) This is a collective European challenge, requiring a collective European response." The President of the Commission emphasised the role of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, launched earlier this year, which works on detecting and responding to such disinformation campaigns.
Fourth, the President of the Commission insisted on strengthening Europe's defence capacities. In addition to Defence Projects of Common Interests of which Bulgaria and Romania are both part of, President von der Leyen underlined the central role of SAFE. Bulgaria is set to benefit from €3.3 billion, while Romania is set to receive more than €16 billion. Further, the Commission recently launched a second SAFE call, making more than €21 billion available to Member States, which the President encouraged both countries she visited to take advantage of.
Fifth, President von der Leyen stressed the need to strengthen Europe's capacity to respond to crises on external borders. Recent incidents in the Black Sea underlined the crucial need to do so, and the President announced an additional €10 million in funding for search and rescue teams in both Romania and Bulgaria.
The Black Sea Maritime Security Hub was a focal point of her visit to both countries. President von der Leyen highlighted the need to operationalise the Hub. She welcomed the close maritime cooperation between Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye and further declared: "We must all work with an urgency mindset when it comes to our defence and security. That is why I am very pleased to announce that in agreement with Romania and Bulgaria, we will now fast-track the work on the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub, with a clear timeline for completion, and dedicated funding of €50 million."
While in Bulgaria, the President expressed her heartfelt condolences to the people of Bulgaria and victims of the multiple cars crash that occurred on 10 November. The flags of the Commission's premises in Brussels were lowered at half-mast as a sign of solidarity with the Bulgarian people.
