EU to allocate 50 million euros for Black Sea Maritime Security Center
10.11.2026 - 11:59
The structure will operate in Varna and Constanta and could become operational in the first half of next year.
This was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a joint press conference in Bucharest with Romanian President Nicusor Dan, Ukrinform reports.
The European Commission is allocating 50 million euros to create the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub.
“In agreement with Romania and Bulgaria, we will accelerate work on the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub with a clear completion schedule and special funding of 50 million euros,” von der Leyen said.
The center will be a network structure of two complementary centers — in Varna and Constanta. Among the tasks are the protection of critical infrastructure, information exchange between countries and support for trade. According to Euronews, the structure could become operational in the first half of next year.
Separately, the Romanian authorities will receive 10 million euros for search and rescue operations. The total support package for the countries of the region is about 60 million euros.
The first of the five topics of the negotiations, von der Leyen named the restoration of freedom of navigation.
“This is a vital trade route for Europe, the Ukrainian economy and global food security. Thanks to it, food reaches millions of people who depend on it – in Africa in particular,” she said, supporting Ukraine’s call for a ceasefire in the Black Sea.
The second topic was the strengthening of maritime surveillance through satellite images of the Copernicus program. Von der Leyen called this “a concrete and immediate contribution that Europe can make to this region now.”
According to von der Leyen, drone incidents are often accompanied by manipulation and information interference from outside. Earlier this year, the EU created the European Center for Democratic Resilience to detect and respond to such campaigns.
Also within the framework of the SAFE initiative, Romania is to receive over 16 billion euros to strengthen its defense capabilities, and two weeks ago the European Commission announced a second competition with access to over 21 billion euros for member states.
Von der Leyen also supported the peace talks in Abu Dhabi with the participation of the European side. At the same time, she emphasized that broader negotiations on the security architecture of Europe are possible only after a ceasefire in Ukraine.
As USM reported, the day before, Bulgaria called on the EU to create a fund to compensate for losses from the war in the Black Sea.
