The European Council will discuss “the intensification of Russia’s hybrid campaigns” at its Summit on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 October, its President, António Costa, said on Tuesday 13 October, after drone attacks on merchant ships were reported overnight off the Bulgarian coast in the Black Sea.
Posting on X, Mr Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attacks as “unacceptable” and expressed the European Union’s solidarity with Bulgaria.
According to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, two merchant ships had been struck by drones, including the Maltese-flagged Chelsea 3, which is owned by Ukrainian economic operators.
“We do not have clear and conclusive evidence to attribute responsibility to either side. However, (...) logic suggests that the outcome benefits the Russian Federation”, he said on X, announcing an investigation into the attacks and the summoning of the Russian ambassador on Tuesday.
He also requested “assistance to strengthen surveillance of airspace and maritime areas”, to which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded by saying that the Alliance was adjusting its defence capabilities “as needed”.
According to draft European Council conclusions dated 9 October, the EU27 will discuss “the intensification of hybrid attacks, including acts of sabotage (and) repeated violations of Member States’ airspace and territorial waters” later this week. “In view of such intensified hybrid campaigns by Russia and other hostile actors”, they will call for “additional efforts to urgently strengthen resilience, enhance preparedness and protect critical infrastructure”.
The Commission will present a new European security strategy at the end of October. In her State of the Union address in mid-September, Mrs von der Leyen raised the prospect of creating a ‘European Security Council’ and establishing an emergency security protocol as a European equivalent of Article 4 of the NATO Treaty (see EUROPE 13939/6).
In September, Germany attributed a foiled hybrid attack involving an explosive drone at Leipzig-Halle military airport to Russia (see EUROPE 13929/1).
See the draft European Council conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/nv5 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)