Dark Clouds Over the Black Sea
A Readout From the Munich Leaders Meeting in Bucharest in November 2022
The MSC held its first formal meeting in Southeastern Europe – the region most affected by Russia's war on Ukraine. More than 270 days after the start of the war, the transatlantic leaders present in Bucharest reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukraine. They also placed the Black Sea region at the heart of their discussions and reflected upon the implications of the war for the European security architecture and global challenges. The discussions produced a list of action items that have been added to the "transatlantic to-do list."
From November 27 to 29, 2022, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) hosted a Munich Leaders Meeting (MLM) in Bucharest on the margins of the NATO ministerial meeting. It brought together around 80 high-level decisionmakers and senior experts, including heads of state and government, cabinet ministers, and members of parliament, from Europe and its direct neighborhood as well as from the United States.
The Munich Security Brief summarizes the discussions held in Bucharest, which focused on the "dark clouds over the Black Sea" and addressed the manifold regional challenges emanating from the Russian war of aggression for Southeastern Europe. Participants also discussed the broader implications for the future of the European security architecture, raising important questions on the nature of security guarantees for countries including Ukraine and Moldova. Finally, they pointed to the global implications of the war by addressing surging food and energy prices and increased polarization among great powers with concomitant repercussions for cooperation in other areas.
A long list of proposals for joint transatlantic action resulted from the discussions in Bucharest. These range from formalizing the NATO-Ukraine dialogue, providing security guarantees to Ukraine, Moldova, and other countries at risk of Russian coercion, to ramping up support for Ukraine's agricultural sector. These action items have been added to the "transatlantic to-do list," which the MSC started to compile at the MLM in May in Washington, DC, and which has been further updated in light of additional MSC events, such as at a European Defense Roundtable in Paris, an Energy Security Roundtable at the ONS Summit in Stavanger, and several COP-related events in Sharm El Sheikh.
