NATO will hold a dedicated session of the North Atlantic Council on the attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Thursday in Brussels after talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. NATO officials said the issue would be placed on the agenda of the alliance's regular meeting of ambassadors in Brussels next week, and Europa Press reported that NATO sources confirmed the Black Sea attacks would be part of that next regular ambassador-level meeting, following a joint request by Romania and Bulgaria at Thursday's meeting on the margins of the European Council.
What was agreed in Brussels?
Dan said the dedicated session would examine the latest incidents and options to strengthen protection against this type of attack. In a post on X summarised by Anadolu, he described commercial ships being attacked and sunk close to Romanian and Bulgarian shores, with seafarers killed, injured or missing, and said allies were committed to defending their territory, including waters and airspace. Rutte, in remarks carried by Agerpres, said NATO had strengthened its position along the eastern flank, including by increasing counter-drone capabilities, and would keep working closely with Black Sea allies, adjusting its deterrence and defence posture as necessary. After the trilateral meeting, Rutte also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Agerpres reported the discussion covered the energy ceasefire issue and that NATO support for Kyiv would continue.
Has either country invoked Article 4?
No. Neither report opened for this article says Romania or Bulgaria requested consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows a member to ask for consultations when it believes its security is threatened. The step agreed on Thursday was narrower: putting the ship attacks on the North Atlantic Council's agenda for a dedicated discussion next week. Radev said Bulgaria had hypotheses about who carried out the attacks but would not make accusations without clear evidence, had not severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and had summoned the Russian ambassador days earlier to press for an end to strikes on ships in the Black Sea, Anadolu reported. He said Bulgaria had proposed a moratorium on all military strikes against civilian and commercial shipping in the Black Sea, and that NATO stood ready to help both countries strengthen anti-drone capabilities and maritime monitoring. The Chelsea 3, one of the ships struck off Bulgaria on Tuesday, was due to be towed to Burgas on Thursday afternoon so authorities could examine it for drone remnants, he added.
Why does this session matter?
It moves the Black Sea shipping attacks from national responses onto the alliance's main political agenda. Two tankers caught fire off Romania overnight into Thursday, with seven crew still missing in the latest Reuters tally published earlier today, following strikes off Bulgaria on Tuesday in which one ship sank and 11 sailors went missing. Dan said NATO faced a new type of challenge in the eastern Black Sea and that specific responses adapted to the region were needed, Europa Press reported. What the council session will produce — monitoring, counter-drone help, or a stronger posture — was not announced on Thursday; both leaders' statements presented next week's meeting as the venue where options will be examined.
Attribution of the Black Sea ship attacks remains unresolved: no authority had formally accused a party in the reports opened for this article, and Bulgaria's prime minister said accusations would not be made without clear evidence. That position is stated here as the officials presented it.
