Greece, Bulgaria and Romania’s agreement on the Aegean-Black Sea Vertical Corridor, a strategic rail and road axis that will connect the three countries via Alexandroupolis, was signed in Brussels.
The agreement was signed by the EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Alternate Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Konstantinos Kyranakis, the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Grozdan Karadzov, and the Romanian Deputy Minister of Transport, Ionut Cristian Savoiu, marking the strengthening of cross-border cooperation and the launch of a project of high geopolitical and economic importance for the region.
“The Memorandum aims to transform the geographical location into a substantial strategic advantage and to harmonise planning, timetables and financing,” EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas said, underlining in his speech the crucial role of the Aegean-Black Sea Vertical Corridor in the European transport network. As Tzitzikostas said, a central role in this new framework is played by the Thessaloniki-Alexandroupolis-Bucharest axis, which “will constitute one of the most important strategic arteries in Europe”, with critical importance for both connectivity and military mobility of the EU and NATO.
The Commissioner explained that with the active participation of the European Commission, CINEA and the European Investment Bank, a complete joint plan for projects, axes and financing is expected to be in place by the end of 2026. He also stressed that this new cooperation lays the foundations for the most strategic transport axis in South-Eastern Europe, “a first line of defence for the security, economy and resilience of the European Union”.
Konstantinos Kyranakis: Strengthening the crucial North–South axis
The Alternate Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Konstantinos Kyranakis, in his speech referred to the importance of the project, which, as he said, “is a strategic commitment and not a mere formality, as it strengthens a crucial North–South axis, important for trade, strategic security, freight flows and the cohesion of the EU internal market”.
As Mr. Kyranakis emphasized, “the corridor will reconnect historic centres and ports in Athens, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Ruse, Constanta and Bucharest, reviving a route that for centuries shaped trade and strategic movements from the Aegean to the Balkans and Central Europe, and it will do so under modern European standards”.
He also referred to the project’s significance for military mobility, stressing that the agreement accelerates projects that “will make the corridor reliable, fast, safe and sustainable. At the same time, it sends a political message in favour of extending the Trans-European Transport Network to Moldova and Ukraine, strengthening the EU’s geopolitical resilience”.
Mr. Kyranakis also mentioned the completion of the Greek sections, stating that “with national resources and European funding, including Cohesion Funds and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), we are promoting projects worth more than 1.3 billion euros up to 2030 for the completion of the Greek sections of the BBA (Baltic–Black Sea–Aegean) Corridor, with a total value of 2.6 billion euros. In addition, funding of 700 million euros is required for complementary infrastructure”.
For their part, the Bulgarian Minister of Transport, Grozdan Karadzhov, and his Romanian counterpart referred to their cooperation with the Commissioner for Transport and the Greek minister on a project that, as they said, relies on the collaboration of member states for investments in infrastructure and military mobility. They emphasized the importance of coordination, interoperability, digitization and efficient border crossing for a more connected and secure Europe.
The signing of the Agreement was also attended by the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Marek Mora, who spoke about the project’s financing and the excellent coordination among the member states, while highlighting the importance of the corridor’s implementation for military mobility on the EU’s eastern flank.
Source: ANA-MPA
TAGS: ECONOMY & DEVELOPMENT | transport
