European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed closer maritime cooperation between Romania, Bulgaria and Türkiye, calling for urgent steps to operationalise the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub.
"We need to operationalise the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub," von der Leyen said during a joint news briefing with Romanian President Nicusor Dan in Bucharest on Monday.
She welcomed the "closer maritime cooperation" among the three countries, stressing that the EU must adopt an "urgency mindset" in addressing defence and security challenges.
"The skies over the Black Sea have darkened, particularly in recent weeks, with drone attacks targeting commercial ships off your coasts, innocent sailors having lost their lives, others are still missing at sea," she said.
She called for restoring and preserving freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, highlighting its importance for Europe, Ukraine's economy and global food security.
Strengthening capacity
Von der Leyen also stressed the need to strengthen maritime surveillance and the bloc's security in the information space.
"Hostile actors are weaponising the information space, and drone incidents are often doubled by foreign information manipulation and interference," she warned.
"They target relentlessly our citizens and democracies, sowing fear, spreading uncertainty," she added.
Von der Leyen said Europe must strengthen its capacity to respond to crises along its borders.
"I am pleased to announce an additional €10 million ($11.2 million) in funding to Romanian authorities for search and rescue operations," she said.
"This will support your capacity to respond to such incidents rapidly and effectively," she added.
EU backs Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi
Turning to the upcoming US-mediated peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, von der Leyen reaffirmed European support for Kiev.
She said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested support from European partners for the negotiations and that the bloc was providing it.
"The focus of these peace talks is ending Russia's war in Ukraine. That must be the goal," she stressed.
Von der Leyen said the EU was also working on a post-war prosperity plan to support Ukraine's stability and reconstruction.
"Any meaningful discussions about Europe's security architecture can only be undertaken once a ceasefire in Ukraine has been achieved," she said.
Such discussions must take place in an appropriate forum, particularly with NATO allies and EU members, she added.
Moscow has maintained that the US-mediated negotiations should remain strictly trilateral, involving Russia, Ukraine and the US, without direct European participation.
The Abu Dhabi talks, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, will mark the fourth round of US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine under the Trump administration.
They will also be the first such meetings since the previous round in Geneva in February.
