EU backs Bulgaria-Romania proposal on Black Sea attacks

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that a proposal by Bulgaria and Romania for a moratorium on attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea had received support from the leadership of the European Commission (EC) and European leaders.

Radev made the statement in Varna, where he met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her working visit to Bulgaria. He expressed his gratitude for the support given to the initiative he had proposed jointly with the Romanian president, CE Report quotes MOLDPRES.

The prime minister spoke at a joint press conference with the European Commission president at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy. He said he had been in contact with her from the first hours following attacks on commercial vessels in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone. Radev described von der Leyen's presence in Varna as a sign of solidarity with Bulgaria.

Radev said that both leaders had been briefed on the situation in the Black Sea region at the Naval Academy, adding that the security environment was changing rapidly. The prime minister noted that more sailors had died in the Black Sea in one month than in eight months in the Strait of Hormuz.

"These attacks are absolutely unacceptable. Sailors are not parties to an armed conflict, and commercial vessels must not be targets of attacks," Radev said.

He described the attacks as violations of maritime and international law, adding that achieving peace requires a ceasefire and active diplomacy.

Radev also said he had informed von der Leyen about a tragic incident involving two consecutive pile-ups on the Trakia Motorway near Yambol earlier on Tuesday. He noted that the death toll had risen to 11, with 48 people injured, and expressed his condolences to the families and relatives of those who died.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was met by protesters chanting "Ursula, you are not welcome" when she arrived in Varna earlier in the day. Demonstrators waved Bulgarian national flags and flags of the Vazrazhdane party.

Nikolai Kostadinov, a Varna municipal councillor from the party, said the protest had been organised by citizens through social media rather than by the party itself.

Protesters also displayed banners in Bulgarian, English and German calling on von der Leyen to leave, arguing that Bulgaria wants and needs peace, not war.

As the official motorcade entered the grounds of the Naval Academy in Varna, protesters threw fruit towards the vehicles. A police cordon prevented them from approaching the convoy.

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