Luca Niculescu and Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed European cooperation in the face of economic and security challenges / “We greatly value our close cooperation with the European Commission”

Raluca Ioana Draghici

9 November 2026, 18:38

Politics

Prim-ministrul României, Luca Niculescu / facebook.com/ Luca Niculescu

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Prime Minister Luca Niculescu stated, following the Monday meeting in Bucharest with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that Romania and its European partners will strengthen the joint response to economic and security challenges. The discussions took place at Victoria Palace, against a regional backdrop marked by increasing risks and the need to reinforce European cooperation.

The Head of Government reaffirmed Romania’s commitment to advancing the European project and working with EU institutions for a stronger, safer and more competitive Europe. The priorities mentioned include strengthening the Eastern Flank and Black Sea security, revitalizing the economy, maintaining fiscal discipline and attracting investment by using available European funds.

Niculescu welcomed the political and financial support provided by the European Commission for operationalizing the maritime security hub in the Black Sea and for Romania’s search and rescue operations. On the same day, von der Leyen announced an allocation of 50 million euros for this project.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the visit represents a new expression of the shared determination to strengthen Europe’s resilience and security.

Context: before the discussion with von der Leyen, Romania was already on the front line of incidents in the Black Sea and preparations for the maritime security hub

Before the meeting in Bucharest, security in the Black Sea had been affected by maritime incidents that heightened concerns about drones and hybrid threats: on October 23, a vessel sank approximately 13 nautical miles from Constanța after reportedly being hit by a drone, while on October 28 another vessel attacked by maritime drones, off the coast of Bulgaria, sank.

Even before the visit, Prime Minister Luca Niculescu also discussed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte the deteriorating security situation in the region and the intensification of hybrid threats on the eastern flank, while Romania and the European Commission had already discussed on November 6 the gradual operationalization of a civilian mechanism for the maritime security hub, intended to improve surveillance and information sharing, in complementarity with NATO.