Bulgaria should ask the European Union for a specific plan to protect commercial shipping and protect the Black Sea area. There should be early warning and limitation of proven economic losses. This was said in the program "Face to Face" on BTV by maritime security expert Hristo Papukchiev.
This plan should include a maritime surveillance and early warning system. National, European and NATO structures must be connected with a clear distribution of functions and without duplication of functions, Papukchiev said.
It must be clear who monitors the situation, who assesses the threat, who warns merchant ships, a streamlined organization must be created to create security for our maritime borders. Because each of the institutions in our country has started to pass the ball to the other, and things will not get better this way, the expert emphasized.
In his words, the plan must also include European funding for the protection of civilian shipping, as well as a mechanism for affordable military risk insurance.
There must be a financial mechanism for proven losses and a plan for trade continuity, Hristo Papukchiev added.
We expect from the European Commission not just a political declaration, but a specific plan. Responsibilities must also be distributed. We cannot eliminate all risks, but we can eliminate the danger and limit the consequences, he added.