"Many of us around this table raised the issue of the Black Sea, but unfortunately our voices were not strong enough, even though we had allies, most notably our Romanian colleagues. Now, however, the world's attention is focused on our region, and it is necessary to look at the Black Sea with different eyes," President Iliana Iotova said at the conference “Towards Shared Regional Security for Peace, Stability and Cooperation in the Balkans and the Black Sea”.
According to her, it is establishing itself as one of the most important points on the global security map:
"The war has shown that this region can no longer be viewed merely as a periphery of European security. Freedom of navigation in it is a cornerstone of international law, although whether this foundation is still holding up in recent times is something everyone can judge for themselves. The security of maritime routes is of fundamental importance for international trade, overall security, and energy independence. For Bulgaria, as a member state of the European Union and NATO, and as a Black Sea country, strengthening maritime security is an obvious strategic priority."
Together with Romania, and in close cooperation in recent times with the European External Action Service and the European Commission, we are developing the concept for the creation of a Black Sea Maritime Security Centre, the President emphasised, adding:
"Our goal is the creation of a civilian network structure with analytical functions, based on the existing intellectual, expert and institutional capacity of the two countries. In its work, the Centre will focus on improving situational awareness, protecting maritime infrastructure, countering hybrid threats, and responding to disasters and environmental crises.
Particularly important for us is the participation of partners such as Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey and Georgia in joint efforts to strengthen security in the Black Sea region. The need for the establishment of this centre and for rapid and adequate situational awareness was demonstrated in recent days by the incident involving drones, which fortunately did not reach Bulgarian territory, and our Ministry of Defence responded in a timely manner."
In the current context, NATO’s role remains not only that of a military and defence alliance, but also a key political pillar of security in South-Eastern Europe. Strengthening the eastern flank of the Alliance is a necessary and logical response to the changed situation, Iotova said.
"Together with Turkey and Romania, we continue joint activities to ensure free and safe maritime areas in the Black Sea within the framework of the mine countermeasures naval group MCM Black Sea. I am a firm opponent of the idea that the territory of the Black Sea — in practice, the Black Sea itself — should be viewed solely as a militarising zone. The Black Sea is an exceptional asset for Bulgaria — geographical and natural. We must be very careful in how it develops from here onwards so as not to put an end once and for all to tourism and to the emerging industry along the Black Sea coast, which provides livelihoods and income for the population.
The SAFE and Real Europe initiatives should be further developed through joint procurement, joint production, standardisation, and the participation of enterprises from Central and South-Eastern Europe."
According to the President, new elements are emerging in the new environment that Bulgaria should take into account:
"The modernisation of the armed forces should not be a fragmented process, but a systematically defined set of realistic objectives with specific deadlines for implementation. However, in order for this to be achieved, I inevitably rely on the new government to first deal with the economic challenges it faces, which includes setting clear priorities regarding which projects should be implemented in the short, medium or long term. This also applies to the modernisation of our military-industrial sector.
A key priority is also cooperation with NATO member states for the joint development of next-generation weapons systems capable of addressing new security challenges."
Bulgaria can and should take direct part in such projects, not only as a peripheral country within the Alliance, but as a centre for innovative developments, Iliana Iotova added.
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