EU Black Sea maritime security hub to have two seats, in Constanța and Varna
The EU Black Sea Maritime Security Hub will have two complementary seats, in Constanța (Romania) and Varna (Bulgaria), after the European Commission announced €50 million to speed it up.
The European Black Sea Maritime Security Hub will have two complementary seats, in Constanța, Romania, and Varna, Bulgaria, USR lawmaker Oana Țoiu, a former foreign minister, said on Monday, 9 November 2026, according to Digi24 and Agerpres. She wrote on Facebook that the European Commission’s announcement of €50 million in funding, made during Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Bucharest, is "a necessary step."
Speaking beside President Nicușor Dan, von der Leyen said work on the hub would accelerate, "with a clear timeline for completion and €50 million allocated," Agerpres reported. She also announced an extra €10 million for Romanian authorities for search-and-rescue operations in the Black Sea.
According to Digi24, the hub will handle monitoring, early warning and protection of critical maritime infrastructure, including ports, subsea cables, pipelines and offshore installations, as well as resilience to hybrid and cyber threats. The World Ports Organization reported that the Varna centre is planned at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, and that the Commission has not yet given a completion date or a split of the money between the two countries. Euronews said the hub could be operational in the first half of 2027.
Țoiu listed next steps, including a legal structure, a governing board, a joint director and national contributions in the 2027 budgets of Romania and Bulgaria.