Von der Leyen on the Growing Threat to the European Union After the Destruction of a Sea Drone in Romania

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today warned of a growing campaign of threats against the European bloc following Romania’s destruction of a sea drone near its gas platform.

Von der Leyen criticized the “escalating campaign of threats” against the European Union, responding to Romania’s decision to destroy a sea drone near its Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black Sea, the British Guardian reports on its portal.

“An escalating campaign of threats is underway, disturbing our citizens and seeking to divide our union. This is hybrid warfare,” von der Leyen said, without naming the aggressor.

She added that the EU’s founding mission is to preserve peace and that today this means having the capacity to deter provocations and aggression.

“Our 2030 readiness agenda is mobilizing up to 800 billion euros,” she wrote, adding that production in Europe of everything member states need to respond to threats quickly, unitedly, and decisively is increasing.

Romania today destroyed a sea drone near a major offshore gas project. The drone was spotted “just a few hundred meters” from the Neptun Deep platform, the leading gas project in the Black Sea, about 130 kilometers from Constanta. The drone was destroyed by a Romanian F-16 fighter jet.

“After conducting analyses and in coordination with the President of Romania, in order to protect the lives of several hundred people working on the platform and to secure critical infrastructure, we made the decision to destroy the drone,” Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta announced on Facebook.

Miruta added that Romanian officials, together with Kyiv, determined that the drone was not of Ukrainian origin, suggesting Russian involvement amid heightened maritime tensions in the region.

Earlier this month, Romanian army divers destroyed two drones that were floating in Romania’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea near the same offshore gas project.