Remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas, Commissioner Kos and Commissioner Síkela on the Black Sea Strategy and increased efficiency of the External Action Guarantee
European Commission
Speech
May 28, 2025
Brussels
"Check against delivery"
High Representative/Vice-President Kallas
Thank you, and good day everybody.
Before updating you on the college meeting, I will raise two issues.
First, today, the EU and NATO hold a Chinese state-backed actor responsible for a malicious cyber-campaign against the Czech Republic. This attack is an unacceptable breach of international norms. The EU will not tolerate hostile cyber actions, and we stand in solidarity with the Czech Republic.
Then, on the Middle East, the situation in Gaza remains dire. Israel's strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas. Bypassing the UN in aid deliveries undermines humanitarian principles. And incidents challenging the special status of Jerusalem risk further escalating tensions.
Now, [turning] to the College meeting. First, we discussed the EU Strategy for Start-ups and Scale-ups. Executive Vice-President Stephane Séjourné and Commissioner Zaharieva will join you in the press room later after this conference is over to present this initiative.
We also appointed Elisabeth Warner as Director-General for the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). The date of effect is 1st of June 2025. The Spokesperson's service will publish further details on this.
Today, we also adopted a technical, but important, proposal to make EU aid tools more user-friendly. This includes simpler rules for faster and more accessible loans. We also propose moving surplus funds across guarantee funds.
Commissioner Síkela will provide details on this, but the key point is that this could unlock several hundred million euros for external investment and aid. We had a discussion on Monday with development Ministers in the Foreign Affairs Council regarding these issues, and how to really do more.
The second proposal today is a Joint Communication on the Black Sea.
The Black Sea region is of great strategic importance to the European Union because of the connection [between] Central Asia and Europe. It is important because of security, trade, and energy.
Also, the region's countries are strengthening their ties with the European Union. Again, the feel of geopolitical shifts is there.
Ukraine and Moldova are moving towards membership of the EU. Georgia too, if it returns to the EU path. And Türkiye is an EU partner of strategic importance and a candidate country.
But the region's potential is marred by Russia's war. Recurring airspace violations and attacks on ports and shipping lanes highlight this reality.
Commissioner Kos will address other elements, but on security, our focus is on three priorities:
First, we are proposing a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub. This hub will be Europe's early warning system in [the] Black Sea. It will enhance situational awareness and help protect critical infrastructure, like offshore installations and subsea cables. The Hub could also help monitor any peace between Russia and Ukraine. In parallel, we will put greater efforts into demining, that is also a very big threat in the Black Sea. Programmes such as the EU's Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund can help map the threat posed by mines.
Second, military mobility. We propose additional upgrades of regional ports, railways, roads, and airports to handle heavy military gear. Upgrades will help ensure troops can be where they are needed, when they are needed. Getting equipment to the region faster strengthens deterrence and also supports NATO. Alongside upgrades, we want better screening of foreign owners in ports and key facilities.
The third point is on hybrid threats. The Black Sea region is the prime target for hybrid actions. The European Union aims to boost cooperation to combat cyberattacks, disinformation, and other hostile actions. We will invest in Artificial Intelligence to fight disinformation, promote media literacy, and enhance fact-checker networks.
Once again, the security of the Black Sea is vital also to European security.
Thank you.
Commissioner Kos
Thank you, Kaja, for mentioning the first pillar of the Black Sea Strategy.
I will speak now about more the second and the third, which is about competitiveness and resilience.
Why are we doing this? We are responding to the geopolitical challenges we are facing today.
We see a world in which dependencies are being weaponised. We see a world where we need to diversify energy, transport, and also digital links. The Black Sea is the bridge to the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a vital artery for us, for trade, energy flows, and food exports. Its stability is central to our security.
So how can we build this stability?
The second pillar is connectivity. We will develop new energy corridors, transport links, and digital infrastructure to the Caucasus and Central Asia, together with our partners from the Black Sea region.
Our partners in Central Asia want that as much as we do. Around the world, countries are now looking for cooperation with reliable and predictable partners - which the EU is. We Europeans are just that. Such partnerships will make us collectively more secure and create business opportunities for everyone.
This will help us diversify away from Russia, as we committed in RePowerEU. It will help us de-risk our energy systems, and it will help us unlock new investment opportunities for clean technology deployment.
In this respect, it matters greatly that the Black Sea area is the home to EU Members. This is the home to EU candidate countries, and this is also the home of the third category, partners who are pursuing closer ties with the EU. This means that we already have some frameworks in place to work together on investments and make sure new infrastructure is synchronised with the EU standards and linked up with our transport and energy corridors.
We will use our Global Gateway initiative and work together with our Member States and financial institutions to bring public and private investments connecting Europe with Asia.
And the third pillar, very important, we will also reinforce the preparedness of coastal communities and blue economy sectors. This will enable Black Sea countries to tackle war-related environmental damage - there is a lot of this there; respond to climate change risks and seize opportunities for sustainable growth.
To close, we will do all that working closely with EU Member States. Because this is really how we can ensure security, how we can diversify energy supplies, and how we can build trade routes for all Europeans, as well as our partners. We see this as a win-win for all.
Commissioner Síkela
Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to explain our simplification measures that will strengthen the financing of our external actions.
As some of you may have noticed, as Commissioner for International Partnerships, I have spent a large part of my mandate on missions around the world. And I clearly see that the world wants more Europe.
Our goal under the Global Gateway Strategy is to use this momentum to strengthen our partnerships abroad and support sustainable development of our partners, while also opening new opportunities for our companies.
It is clear that the success of this effort depends on the financial firepower we are able to deploy.
The measure we approved today will help us to make our external financing tools more effective and also simplify procedures for our implementing partners - namely development financial institutions like the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and and Development, but also the Member States' development banks like Die Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, AFD, Cofides and many others.
As you know, guarantees are an important part of our financial toolbox. They back loans provided by the banks to support our development projects, lowering the risk and reducing interest rates for our partners.
When these projects are successful, the guarantees are not called - and the funds are returned to the EU.
The measure adopted today changes that. It allows to redeploy unused funds from guarantees that were not called - unlocking new funds in the amount of approximately €500 million.
These funds can be further leveraged and multiplied. It means that based on current practice, we may be able to mobilise - depends on the multiplicator - but, around €10 billion for our additional investments in partner countries under Global Gateway. And we will not need new budget resources.
The adopted measure also reduces the EU's first-loss coverage of the EIB sovereign lending from 65% to 60%, making our budget go further and strengthening our impact.
Finally, by simplifying audit procedures for development finance institutions, we estimate this measure will save around €20 million - money that we can now spend on development rather than bureaucracy.
This is a smart, strategic update to our financial architecture - and a necessary step if we seek to deliver more impact with every euro we invest.
Thank you very much for your attention.
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