Finance
Romanian national defence strategy highlights risks to Black Sea infrastructure
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Romania's defence strategy addresses Black Sea energy security risks, aiming to strengthen ties with allies and become the EU's largest gas producer by 2027.
BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romania needs to forge closer ties with Black Sea allies to help protect energy projects that will make it the European Union's largest gas producer in 2027 from Russian threats, a draft national defence strategy said on Wednesday.
The EU and NATO state shares a 650 km (400 mile) land border with Ukraine and has seen Russian drones repeatedly breach its airspace over the last two years, as well as mines floating in the Black Sea across key trade and energy routes.
The Black Sea is crucial for shipments of grain, oil and oil products and is shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.
Offshore gas project Neptun Deep jointly owned by OMV Petrom, majority controlled by Austria's OMV and Romanian state-owned gas producer RomgazBX> will reach first gas in 2027, making Romania the EU's largest gas producer.
The country's national defence strategy for 2025-2030, released by centrist President Nicusor Dan on Wednesday, says Romania will strengthen cooperation with Turkey and Bulgaria to protect critical energy and telecoms infrastructure.
"Russia's military posture, its aggression against Ukraine and, especially after 2014, the significant militarization of the Crimean Peninsula endanger the security of the Black Sea region, jeopardizing the safety of navigation and the exploitation of energy resources," the draft strategy said.
"Boosting cooperation with Turkey and Bulgaria, as allied states, but also with other (Black Sea countries), is important in this context."
The strategy, which will be up for public debate for roughly two weeks before being sent to parliament for approval, says the country's strategic partnership with the United States is of "overwhelming importance,"
Washington has recently announced it will no longer rotate a part of its troops to Romania, and Dan said the country was in talks with other NATO allies about potentially replacing them.
The strategy says Romania will consider minority listings of state defence companies on the bourse.
Cyber attacks, corruption and weak institutional capacity were identified in the strategy as some of the main risks to the country's national security. Potential delays in the European integration of neighbouring Moldova and Ukraine would also heighten security risks for Romania, it said.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
A national defence strategy is a document that outlines a country's approach to ensuring its security and defense against threats, including military, economic, and cyber risks.
Energy projects refer to initiatives aimed at producing, distributing, or managing energy resources, including oil, gas, and renewable energy sources.
Cybersecurity involves protecting computer systems, networks, and data from theft, damage, or unauthorized access, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks followed by coordinated efforts to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events.
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