The European Union is planning major infrastructure upgrades around the Black Sea as part of its new strategy to strengthen regional security. The plan includes work on the Black Sea ports, surrounding roads, railways and airports to enable faster military transport, Defense News reported Thursday.
“These updates will help to ensure troops can be where they are needed, when they are needed,” said Kaja Kallas, European Commission vice president. The upgrades would also boost deterrence of NATO adversaries, she added.
Three-Pronged Security Approach
According to an EC statement released Wednesday, the European Union’s strategy for a stable and secure Black Sea seeks to strengthen relationships and growth through links between Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia and beyond. To pursue the goal, the EU will undertake a three-pronged approach, including a connectivity agenda for developing not only transport infrastructures but also energy and digital networks to grow the region’s economy.
Part of the strategy also calls for establishing a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub to provide Europe with an early warning center on emerging threats and malicious actors in the region. The center’s tasks will include monitoring vital maritime infrastructure, such as submarine cables, offshore equipment, and gas and wind energy facilities.
Kallas, who is also the union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy and head of the European Defense Agency, shared in a press conference on the strategy that the Black Sea security center could monitor a ceasefire or peace agreement that may eventually be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine.
The EU strategy’s third pillar calls for reinforcing Black Sea countries’ capability to address climate-change risks and tackle war-related environmental damage. Toward this goal, the strategy prioritizes sea mine clearing and protecting commercial shipping lanes from clandestine operations of Russian and North Korean vessels.
The European Union has no specific budget allocation for the Black Sea strategy and will instead tap existing programs, including the $159 billion Security Action for Europe lending instrument that EU countries approved Tuesday, Defense News reported.