Romanian president raises Galați drone incident in call with António Costa before EU meeting

Romanian president Nicușor Dan discussed security and budget priorities with European Council president António Costa on Tuesday, June 9, ahead of next week's EU summit in Brussels. During the phone call, Dan urged that the recent drone incident in Galați be reflected in the summit's conclusions and called for a stronger condemnation of Russia's actions.

At the end of May, a Russian drone crashed into a residential apartment building in the Romanian city of Galați, triggering an explosion and a fire that injured two people and forced the evacuation of around 70 residents. The authorities described the incident as a serious violation of the country's airspace.

According to the announcement published by Dan on Facebook, the two leaders spoke about the main topics on the agenda of the European Council meeting scheduled for June 18-19.

During the conversation, the Romanian leader argued that the "serious incident caused by the Russian drone in Galați" should be included in the summit conclusions, alongside a stronger message condemning Russia for what he described as repeated and unacceptable violations of the airspace of European Union member states.

“These tactics are intolerable, and it is imperative that they be firmly condemned,” Nicușor Dan said.

“Romania will continue to pursue the operationalization of projects under the Eastern Flank Watch initiative, in complementarity with NATO initiatives, in order to ensure European defense and security,” he added.

Dan and Costa also discussed the European Union's future multiannual financial framework. The Romanian president said he stressed the importance of balanced funding allocations that address Romania's needs and highlighted the country's objective of building on commitments agreed by the "Friends of Cohesion" group of member states in a joint declaration adopted on May 26.

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)