PM Radev: Bulgaria Is Taking All Possible Measures to Enhance Maritime Security in the Black Sea

“Bulgaria is doing everything possible to improve the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. The government is making sustained efforts to protect the national interest and ensure safe shipping conditions and unhindered access to international markets,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev said during a meeting today with representatives of the National Association of Grain Producers, held at the Council of Ministers.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Agriculture and Food Plamen Abrovski and Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev.

The talks addressed current challenges facing the sector and ways to find practical solutions that would facilitate the work of agricultural producers and ensure more efficient transportation of agricultural produce to markets.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of transporting grain exports from north-western Bulgaria by Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) trains to the country’s Black Sea ports. Shipping is currently hampered by low water levels in the Danube, meaning that produce has to be transported to the ports by lorry. This creates additional costs for producers and puts extra pressure on road infrastructure.

Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev assured agricultural producers that BDZ Freight Transport had the capacity needed to transport grain to the Black Sea ports. Peev also briefed industry representatives on the government’s plans for large-scale development of the transport sector and the construction of more efficient transport corridors, particularly along the north–south axis.

The meeting also covered forthcoming legislative amendments related to reform of land relations, the development of irrigation and the promotion of cooperation among agricultural producers. Minister Abrovski stressed that the government and the legislature were working in coordination to find legislative solutions to problems that had accumulated in the sector over many years.

Minister Abrovski also said that next year’s budget included funding to digitalise all reservoirs, allowing their water levels to be monitored in real time.

The National Association of Grain Producers thanked Prime Minister Radev for his position on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. Industry representatives also backed the need to preserve funding for Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy in the European Union’s next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.

“Food security is of paramount importance to Bulgaria. We are doing everything possible to protect the interests of Bulgarian agricultural producers and ensure conditions for the sustainable development of the sector,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev further emphasised during the meeting.