Dan Dungaciu, on Romania–Bulgaria relations: “It is not bridges that create strategy. Strategy creates bridges!”; He proposes a Bucharest–Sofia–Ankara axis

Ancuța Stanciu, Financial Intelligence, 16 September 2026

Summary

At a conference in Bucharest, Professor Dan Dungaciu argued that Romania and Bulgaria need to move past their post-integration passivity and transform their partnership into a robust geopolitical and economic alliance. Highlighting that bilateral trade has already reached roughly 8.7 billion euros, he stressed that economic ties have outpaced politics and that the two nations share convergent national interests that go beyond EU or NATO requirements.

Dungaciu addressed the ongoing public debate over Danube river crossings, asserting that current infrastructure discussions approach the problem backward. Instead of building bridges in hopes of forcing a relationship, he maintains that a strong strategic and economic partnership must come first, which will naturally make infrastructure development inevitable. To achieve this, he proposed a broader geopolitical vision centered on a Bucharest–Sofia–Ankara axis, positioning Bulgaria not as a dead end, but as Romania’s vital gateway to the Balkans and Turkey for trade, energy, and regional security.

Article

Romania and Bulgaria should transform their existing strategic partnership into a much more robust economic and geopolitical relationship, built around trade, energy, infrastructure, security and regional cooperation, and Bucharest should view Sofia, amongst other things, as a gateway to the Balkans and Turkey, said Prof. Dan Dungaciu, First Vice-President of the AUR, at the conference ‘Romania and Bulgaria – Neighbourhood and a Shared Future’, organised by the ‘Titu Maiorescu’ Foreign Policy Group at the Palace of Parliament.

“We are neighbours. We share a border of almost 470 kilometres, most of which runs along the Danube. We joined NATO together in 2004. We joined the European Union together in 2007. We have travelled the long road to Schengen together. We are two states bordering the Danube and two Black Sea states. And yet, paradoxically, Romania and Bulgaria continue to know far too little about one another and, above all, to give one another far too little thought in strategic terms,” said Dan Dungaciu.

“What interests does Romania have in Bulgaria today?”

Dan Dungaciu began his address by referring to the famous line from I.L. Caragiale’s “D’Ale carnavalului” – “What was the German doing in Bulgaria?” – which he transformed into a question about Romania’s current interests south of the Danube. He recalled that Caragiale’s play was first performed in April 1885, a significant year for the Bulgarian national project, which was subsequently marked by the unification of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia.

“Joking aside, the question posed in Caragiale’s play suggested a serious concern,” said Dungaciu, asking: “What are we doing in Bulgaria? Or, to be more precise: what interests does Romania have in Bulgaria today?”

In his view, the fact that Romania and Bulgaria went through the process of joining NATO and the European Union together was not followed by the development of a sufficiently strong bilateral vision for the post-integration period.

In this context, Dan Dungaciu recalled the early 2000s, when Romania was led by Prime Minister Adrian Năstase and Bulgaria by Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and there was talk of a “Romanian-Bulgarian tandem”: “The two states shared the same strategic objective at the time: Euro-Atlantic integration. They joined NATO together and negotiated their accession to the European Union in parallel. However, the partnership functioned primarily as a diplomatic formula and as an instrument of Western integration. It did not produce a sufficiently strong bilateral vision for the post-integration era.”

The question that must now be asked, according to Dungaciu, is: “What do we want to do together, as Romania and Bulgaria? Not because Brussels is asking us to. Not because we have a joint accession dossier. But because the national interests of the two countries converge.”

Dungaciu: The economy has overtaken politics

One of the central arguments of his speech concerned the development of trade relations between the two countries. “There is a significant paradox here. Politics has lagged behind, but the economy has moved forward,” said Dan Dungaciu.
According to Bulgarian statistical data cited by him, in 2025 Bulgaria exported goods worth approximately 8.87 billion leva to Romania, whilst imports from Romania amounted to around 8.19 billion leva. Bilateral trade in goods thus stood at approximately 17.1 billion leva, the equivalent of around 8.7 billion euros. “Our economies are telling us something that politics has not yet fully grasped: Romania and Bulgaria need each other,” stated Dungaciu.

“The issue of the bridges is being approached the wrong way round”

As regards infrastructure across the Danube, Dungaciu argues that the public debate usually starts from the wrong issue: “Whenever we discuss the Romania–Bulgaria relationship, we almost inevitably end up on the same topic: the bridges over the Danube. Why do we have so few? Why is construction taking so long? Why aren’t there more road and rail links? These are legitimate questions. But, from our perspective, the problem is being approached the wrong way round.”

According to him, infrastructure should be the consequence of an economic and geopolitical strategy, not a substitute for it: “You don’t build the bridges first and hope that they will subsequently create a strategic relationship. You build the strategic relationship, and that makes the bridges inevitable.”

Dungaciu believes that, viewed solely through the prism of current traffic flows, some new crossings over the Danube might appear more advantageous to Bulgaria, for which Romania represents the gateway to Central and Northern Europe, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The outlook would, however, change fundamentally, he says, if Romania were to build a broader economic and strategic link southwards via Bulgaria.

“The bridges are no longer simply infrastructure through which Bulgaria reaches Romania. They become infrastructure through which Romania reaches the Balkans, the Aegean Sea, Istanbul and beyond. At that point, every bridge across the Danube also becomes a Romanian interest.”
“This is the shift in perspective we are proposing: it is not the bridges that create the strategy. The strategy creates the bridges,” emphasised Dan Dungaciu.

The Romania–Bulgaria Strategic Partnership: economy, energy, transport and security

Romania and Bulgaria officially elevated their bilateral relationship to the level of a Strategic Partnership in March 2023, through a declaration signed in Sofia by the presidents of the two countries. The document covers, amongst other things, economic cooperation, connectivity and infrastructure, energy, security, European affairs and regional cooperation.

Dungaciu believes, however, that the partnership must be translated into concrete projects: “A strategic partnership must not exist solely in joint declarations, diplomatic meetings and official photographs. It must be visible on the map, in the economy and in trade balances.”

The vision he presented is structured around six areas: the development of trade and mutual investment; energy and interconnections; transport and navigation on the Danube; security in the Black Sea and the Balkans; European cooperation, including in relation to the integration of the Balkans; and strengthening the regional dimension.

On the economic front, Dungaciu spoke of developing “Romanian-Bulgarian production chains”, whilst on energy he referred to “interconnections, energy infrastructure, energy security and joint projects in the Black Sea region”. In transport, the priorities should include, according to the vision presented, “bridges, railways, motorways, navigation on the Danube and the connection of Black Sea ports”.

Dungaciu proposes a Bucharest–Sofia–Ankara axis

An important component of the strategy presented by Dan Dungaciu is broadening the perspective beyond bilateral relations to include Turkey. “For Romania, Bulgaria must not be the end of the road. Bulgaria must be Romania’s gateway to the Balkans and to Turkey,” he stated.

Dungaciu cited Turkey’s status as a NATO member, the size of its economy, its strategic position regarding the Straits and the development of the Turkish defence industry: “That is why Romania must think more ambitiously: Bucharest–Sofia–Ankara.”

He clarified that such a framework should not be seen as directed against another state or as an alternative to NATO or the European Union: “Not against anyone. Not as an alternative to NATO or the European Union. But as an expression of the concrete interests of the three states in a region that is once again becoming essential to Europe’s security and economy.”

The aim would be to create economic flows strong enough to subsequently generate the need for infrastructure. “If we create substantial economic flows along the Romania–Bulgaria–Turkey axis, the infrastructure will follow the economy.

Then we will be able to discuss the bridges over the Danube, the rail corridors, the ports of Constanța and Varna/Burgas, the link to Istanbul, energy and the Black Sea in a different light,” said Dan Dungaciu.

“What do we want to achieve together over the next 20 years?”

In concluding his speech, Dan Dungaciu argued that the bilateral relationship should be built on the basis of long-term strategic objectives and not exclusively on individual infrastructure projects: “For too many years, we have been starting the discussion from the wrong end. We have asked: ‘How many more bridges shall we build?’. We propose asking first: ‘What do we want to achieve together over the next 20 years?’. If we answer this question, the issue of bridges will become much simpler. Because infrastructure follows interests. Trade follows infrastructure. And political influence follows the economy.”

In this vision, Romania should view Bulgaria “not as the country on the other side of the Danube, but as one of the partners through which Romania can once again become a relevant player in the Balkans”, whilst Bulgaria should see Romania “not merely as the route to the north, but as a strategic partner for the Danube, the Black Sea and Central Europe”.

Returning to the question inspired by Caragiale – “What is Romania doing in Bulgaria?” – Dungaciu replied: “It is seeking its national interest. It is seeking markets. It is seeking infrastructure. It is seeking security. It is seeking access to the Balkans and Turkey. And it is seeking a partner.”

“AUR proposes that Romania and Bulgaria move from geographical neighbourliness to a community of interests. Because the Danube must not be the line that separates us. It must be the axis that unites us,” said Professor Dungaciu.

Photo: The photograph shows a high-level round-table discussion held at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, as part of the conference entitled ‘Romania and Bulgaria – Neighbourhood and a Shared Future’, organised by the ‘Titu Maiorescu’ Foreign Policy Group. Participants (left: Constantin Mihai Grigorie, former Romanian Ambassador to Russia, centre: Prof. Dan Dungaciu, First Vice-President of the AUR and keynote speaker at the event, right: Radko Vlaykov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Romania) (photo: Financial Intelligence)

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