NSC: Briefing for members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy and Security

NSC: Briefing for members of the  NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy and Security

Members of Parliament from several NATO countries, members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy and Security are on a visit to Romania from 4-6 April to better understand the security challenges in the Black Sea region in the context of the current war in Ukraine.

   
During the visit, Mr. George Scutaru, CEO of the New Strategy Center, presented the impact of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine on the security of the Black Sea region. The intervention focused on the strategic importance of the Snake Island from the perspective of freedom of navigation, ensuring a constant flow of grain exports to Ukraine, but also from a military and energy perspective. The island is located in front of the mouth of the Danube, the second gateway to the Black Sea after the Turkish Straits, near the ports of Sulina and Constanta, as well as the military base from Mihail Kogălniceanu.  At the same time, important gas reserves have been discovered in Romania’s Exclusive Economic Zone, not far from the Snake Island, which will make Romania the largest gas producer in the EU by 2027 and allow it to reduce Russia’s influence in countries such as Moldova and Serbia, which depend massively on Russian gas.


One of the conclusions of the discussion was that more attention needs to be paid to Russia’s hybrid actions, complementary to its military actions in Ukraine, the Black Sea area being an area where such hybrid actions manifest very often.