Bulgaria calls on EU to create fund to compensate for damages from Black Sea war

Bulgaria has called for the European Commission to raise the issue of creating a special fund to compensate for the economic losses suffered by Black Sea ports and shipping.

This was reported by Maritime.bg with reference to MEP Olena Yoncheva.

According to her, the upcoming visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Bulgaria should be an occasion for an official discussion of such a mechanism. Yoncheva also initiated the preparation of a special European Parliament resolution to support the affected sectors of the economy and addressed the EU High Representative Kaia Kallas with a package of proposals.

Bulgaria is concerned about the deterioration of shipping safety in its exclusive economic zone. In recent weeks, five commercial vessels have been damaged or sunk as a result of attacks there.

The increase in the cost of military risk insurance and the danger of drifting mines are already forcing some carriers to abandon calls to Bulgarian ports.

The ship repair industry is also experiencing problems. According to the Bulgarian National Association of Shipbuilding and Ship Repair, traffic through the Bosphorus has halved in a year, and the workload of local ship repair companies has dropped to 60%.

At least nine ships have already canceled scheduled repairs in Bulgaria. Direct losses to the industry are estimated at €4.2 million, and up to €180 million in annual budget revenues and thousands of jobs are at risk.

Earlier it became known that the President of the European Commission will visit Bulgaria and Romania due to the increase in attacks in the Black Sea.