Statement by President von der Leyen with Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev

Dear Prime Minister,

Dear Rumen,

I also want to express my deepest condolences to the victims of the multiple cars crash, the wounded, their families, but also to you and the people of Bulgaria. And I want to pay respect to the rescue teams. This is a very tragic moment today.

To Bulgaria's maritime capital, I came with one clear message: Europe stands with Bulgaria, in these testing times. Because Black Sea security is European security. We have witnessed together this year and specifically in the last month an increase in the number of threats, attacks and incursions into Bulgaria, which is EU territory. We had an excellent, sobering, very in-depth presentation here at the Naval Academy I really thank you for that. And this is the reason why I am here. 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. And the intention of these attacks is clear: Russia wants to spread fear and uncertainty in Europe. We know the playbook. And we are building resilience against it. So you can count on a strong and united European response.

Let me highlight a few points of our discussion today here. First, freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored, and preserved. It is vital for trade routes for Bulgaria and Europe, but also for the Ukrainian economy and for global food security. It keeps food supplies flowing to millions of people who depend on them – mostly to the continent of Africa. Second, we are strengthening maritime surveillance. There is much more needed, but we can already include the satellite imagery provided by Copernicus. The download of pictures has doubled since September. This is immediate added value that Europe can provide.

Third, we will strengthen our security in the information space. We continue to be targeted by Foreign Information and Manipulation campaigns. And our response is clear: we are fighting back. This is the reason why earlier this year, we launched the European Centre for Democratic Resilience. It gathers the best expertise available across the European Union. And today we agreed a close cooperation with the authorities in Bulgaria, to track, detect and debunk these campaigns.

Fourth, we must strengthen our ability to defend ourselves. The Prime Minister rightly said if we want peace, we have to be strong. This is why Europe is investing massively in defence readiness. We have our Defence Projects of Common Interest. And I welcome that Bulgaria is part of all of them. And of course we have SAFE, our main programme for joint defence procurement. Bulgaria is set to benefit from €3.3 billion. Two weeks ago, the Commission launched a second SAFE call. We are making more than €20 billion available to Member States. And here I welcome very much the interest of Bulgaria to use it instantly, for the acute situation. You have my full support what that is concerned, and this is exactly what we want with the common funding from Europe to help and support you to protect common European borders.

Fifth, we must also strengthen our capacity to respond to crises on our external borders. The horrific incidents in the Bulgarian Black Sea are a key example. I want to express my condolences and my thoughts to the victims of the sunk ship and the families of all those who have been killed or who are still missing. And in this context, I commend the courage and swift action of the Bulgarian rescue teams, who helped to save lives as ships were sinking. I am impressed and we had an excellent presentation of the work of the rescue teams. Therefore, today I am pleased to announce an additional €10 million in funding supplied to the search and rescue to the Bulgarian authorities.

In a wider context, we need to operationalise the Black Sea Maritime Security Hub, conducted by Bulgaria and Romania. In this context I welcome the closer maritime cooperation between Bulgaria, Romania and Türkiye. It is important to have it now up and running, and therefore we want to have clear timelines for its completion, and we want to offer a dedicated funding of €50 million to this Black Sea maritime security hub. We need it now.

Dear Rumen,

Let me finish with another topic. Because in less than two months, Bulgaria will celebrate 20 years as a member of the EU. And what a remarkable journey it has been. One thing is crystal clear, over these two decades, Bulgaria has made Europe stronger and safer. It is impressive to see how you helped secure our southeastern borders. Your defence industry is playing an essential role in supporting the defence posture and also in supporting Ukraine. And I am very much looking forward to coming back in a few months, indeed, to the Connectivity Summit that will take place here in Bulgaria. This is a very important summit where we will look at the middle corridor and the southern corridor. Topics of utmost importance that is transport and trade, it is energy and it is digital, and with all the surrounding factors about that. So, thank you very much. Europe has been good for Bulgaria, but Bulgaria has been very good for Europe too.