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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION (2026/2933(RSP))

On the escalation of Russian strikes in the EU, particularly on Black Sea shipping, threatening human life, regional stability and food security

B-10-2026-0484

on behalf of the ECR Group · Rapporteur: Adam Bielan, Cristian Terheş, Reinis Pozņaks, Rihards Kols, Aurelijus Veryga, Waldemar Buda, Jaak Madison, Michał Dworczyk, ClaudiuRichard Târziu, Tobiasz Bocheński, Şerban Dimitrie Sturdza, Maciej Wąsik, Mariusz Kamiński, Alexandr Vondra, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, Ivaylo Valchev, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Nora Junco García, Sebastian Tynkkynen, Jacek Ozdoba, Bogdan Rzońca, Nikola Bartůšek, Roberts Zīle, Marlena Maląg, Beatrice Timgren, Dick Erixon, Ondřej Krutílek, Veronika Vrecionová, Małgorzata Gosiewska

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 23 Oct 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

A non-binding resolution condemns Russian drone and missile attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including vessels in Bulgarian and Romanian waters, and the resulting deaths and missing crew. It calls for independent investigations, accountability, an immediate end to attacks on civilian vessels, and stronger EU–NATO maritime surveillance, early warning and counter-drone cooperation. It asks member states to treat Russia's shadow fleet as an instrument of war and to deny services to vessels without verifiable insurance and genuine flag registration. It condemns airspace violations, jamming, sabotage and assassination attempts across the EU's eastern flank as a coordinated hostile strategy, and calls for sustained pressure on Russia and support for Ukraine. It welcomes NATO posture adjustments and the Victory Strategy, and calls for support to Romania and Bulgaria on surveillance, civil protection and Danube grain transit routes. It welcomes EUR 130 million announced by the Commission for drone and counter-drone measures at the EU's external borders.

Key points

  1. Condemns Russia's Black Sea attacks, expresses solidarity with Romania, Bulgaria and other Black Sea states, and calls for investigations into the attacks on the Royad Mammadov, Alfa Watan and Able.
  2. Condemns drone attacks on 14 and 15 October 2026 that set the Yara J and Wine Trader ablaze near the Sulina Canal in Romanian waters, with seven crew of the Wine Trader missing.
  3. Calls for an immediate end to attacks on civilian and commercial vessels and maritime infrastructure, independent investigation, and stronger EU–NATO cooperation to protect maritime traffic.
  4. Condemns Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and its systematic attacks on Ukrainian ports, agricultural infrastructure and commercial shipping.
  5. Calls on the Commission, the Council and member states to strengthen maritime surveillance, early-warning systems, information-sharing and counter-drone capabilities in the Black Sea, in cooperation with NATO and regional partners.
  6. Welcomes Romania's and Bulgaria's efforts, with the Commission and partners such as Moldova, to keep grain transit routes open through the Port of Constanta and the Danube, and condemns attacks on Ukrainian Danube ports.
  7. Welcomes NATO's plans to adjust its deterrence and defence posture and the Victory Strategy presented in Warsaw, and calls for it to be translated into concrete measures on the eastern flank.
  8. Calls for support to Romania on airspace surveillance, early warning, civil protection in the Danube delta and environmental monitoring, and for better search-and-rescue and emergency response for seafarers.
  9. Calls for work through the International Maritime Organization to document attacks, strengthen maritime safety and promote accountability, upholding freedom of navigation under UNCLOS.
  10. Calls on member states to treat Russia's shadow fleet as an instrument of war and sanctions evasion, denying port access, bunkering, crewing, classification and insurance to vessels without verifiable insurance and genuine flag registration, and to board, inspect and detain them where the law permits.
  11. Calls for the EU's Black Sea strategy to have clear priorities, adequate resources and measurable results, and welcomes the Commission's EUR 130 million for drone and counter-drone measures at external borders.
  12. Condemns airspace violations, drone incursions, satellite navigation jamming and spoofing, sabotage and assassination attempts as a coordinated hostile strategy, and calls for pressure on Russia to accept a Black Sea ceasefire and for regional cooperation including the Romania-Bulgaria-Türkiye mine-countermeasure initiative.

Who is affected

  • Civilian seafarers and commercial shipping in the Black Sea, including crews killed, missing or injured in drone strikes.
  • Romania and Bulgaria, as EU and NATO member states facing drone incursions, airspace violations and debris on their territory.
  • Ukraine, whose ports, grain-export facilities and Danube corridor are targeted, affecting its agricultural exports.
  • Vessels of Russia's shadow fleet, which member states are asked to deny port access, bunkering, crewing, classification and insurance.
  • Vulnerable countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia dependent on grain imports, whose food supply is threatened by disrupted exports.

Figures and deadlines

  • More than 20 civilian crew members killed or missing in recent Black Sea drone attacks on merchant vessels.
  • 13 October 2026: two merchant vessels struck off the Bulgarian coast; Chelsea-3 hit by three drones, all 15 crew rescued, five needing medical assistance.
  • HS Dignity sank approximately 17 nautical miles east of Shabla, Bulgaria, leaving 11 crew members missing after 5 were rescued.
  • 6 October 2026: Alfa Watan and Able struck in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone; Alfa Watan sank and Able caught fire, with two seafarers hospitalised.
  • 5 October 2026: Royad Mammadov, carrying grain from Izmail, sank in Romania's exclusive economic zone, killing two crew members.
  • July 2026: Russia launched 67 attacks on seaport infrastructure, 35 on civilian vessels in ports and 22 on vessels in the Ukrainian Maritime Corridor, according to Ukraine's Ministry for Communities and Territories Development.
  • 30 July 2026: a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile violated Polish airspace and struck near Tarnawa-Kolonia.
  • EUR 130 million announced by the Commission on 13 October 2026 for drone and counter-drone measures at the EU's external borders.