Black Sea attacks: MEPs say the EU must consider a naval operation in the region

MEPs strongly condemn Russia’s escalation of its war against Ukraine in the Black Sea

Parliament criticises the Bulgarian government’s weak response to Russian threat

More EU support to Romania and Bulgaria needed in early detection and tracking of hostile drones

Following the latest deadly attacks against civilian merchant vessels, Parliament calls on the EU to consider deploying a naval operation in the Black Sea.

Strongly condemning the latest deadly strikes off the coast of Bulgaria and Romania, as well as repeated violations of Romanian airspace, Parliament holds Russia responsible for attacking civilian vessels and for escalating its war of aggression against Ukraine into the western Black Sea.

The resolution, adopted on Thursday with 432 votes in favour, 52 against and 88 abstentions, stresses that these attacks fit a clear pattern of Russian escalation in which Moscow has systematically targeted civilian shipping. Russia is the overall driver behind the deteriorating situation in the Black Sea region, the text reads.

Commending the swift efforts of the Romanian and Bulgarian maritime rescue services, border police and passing merchant vessels to assist ships, MEPs also express concern over the Bulgarian government’s ambiguous handling of the Russian threat. They regret Sofia’s weak diplomatic response to Russia and call on Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev to “match demands for allied solidarity with concrete action”. They also urge Bulgaria to stop delaying its participation in NATO’s anti-drone initiative ‘Air Defence Capabilities Against Lower-level Air Threats’.

The EU should consider a naval operation in the Black Sea

Following the latest deadly attacks, MEPs say the EU and its member states should consider deploying an EU naval operation in the Black Sea, stressing that freedom of navigation and maritime security are part of securing NATO’s eastern flank, the Black Sea region and the Danube delta. MEPs further call on NATO to consider a Black Sea initiative, building on existing discussions on the possibility of a ‘Black Sea Sentry’, and they underline the importance of closer regional cooperation between Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye.

More EU support for Romania and Bulgaria

The text also calls on EU countries, in cooperation with NATO, to support Bulgaria and Romania in the early detection and tracking of hostile drones threatening Black Sea shipping, but also on the EU to rapidly operationalise the EU Black Sea maritime security hub initiative, which aims to help strengthen maritime safety and security, and protect critical maritime infrastructure and the marine environment. MEPs also call for unspent EU funds in the so-called SAFE instrument to be used to help Romania and Bulgaria to tackle these challenges while stressing that the future EU long-term budget must cater for a wide range of security and defence needs, including in the Black Sea region.

In addition, they want the EU and its member states to strengthen the protection and resilience of ongoing submarine telecommunications, electricity transmission and data cable projects through enhanced maritime surveillance, regional cooperation, and rapid-response mechanisms.