In Croatia, Stavros Papastavrou was in Croatia as part of the Three Three Seas Economic Forum.

On Greece’s primary role in the Vertical Corridor, and on energy agreementsachieved in the P-TEC that are shaping the energy landscape in our region was mentioned by Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou at the discussion on “Advancing Energy Corridors in the Three Seas Region” held today in Croatia.

The discussion was organized in the framework of the Three Seas Economic Forum by US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright and was attended by his counterparts fromCroatia, Poland, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Latvia and other countries of South East Europe, as well as officials from the European Commission, including the Director General for Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen.

In his statement, Mr. Papastavrou referred to four points:

First, the Minister informed his counterparts about the agreement reached a few weeks ago between the Transmission System Operators of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, in cooperation with the European Commission, which marks a substantial leap forward for the Vertical Corridor.

He said the agreement ensures regulatory clarity, competitive and predictable tariffs, and the possibility of long-term capacity commitments, enhancing the commercial viability of the corridor. The result is a transition from fragmented flows to a reliable and financeable energy network, enhancing security of supply in the region.

Secondly, he welcomed the tangible and decisive steps taken yesterday on the one hand with the important 20-year agreement signed between AKTOR LNG USA and Albanian AlbGaz, kand on the other with the agreement on the Bosnia-Croatia Southern Interconnector gas pipeline, calling them “decisive steps leading to further independence from Russian gas”.

Thirdly, he highlighted the need for the European Commission to safeguard the bypass via Turkstream and Turkey’s compliance with the ban, and called on the Commission to proceed with generous financing for energy infrastructure projects but also to adjust the regulatory framework, stressing that “infrastructure follows the regulatory framework and investment follows certainty”.

Finally, he announced that there will be, in the next period, a meeting with Serbia and North Macedonia, to accelerate the interconnection projects of the three countries within the framework of the enlarged Vertical Axis.

Recall that on the first day of the Summit, Tuesday 28 April,Papastavrou participated in the Economic Forum of the Summit as a speaker in the panel “The Adriatic-Ionian Corridor” with his counterparts from Central and Eastern Europe. At noon on Tuesday, Papastavrou, along with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and the President and CEO of the Japan External Trade Organization, Isiguro Norihiko, participated in a closed panel discussion on the Shift to Asia.

On Tuesday afternoon, Papastavrou held a bilateral meeting with Croatia’s Minister of Economic Relations, responsible for energy, Ante Šušnjar. Also, along with the US Secretary of Energy,Chris Wright, and the Greek Deputy Secretary of State, Haris Theocharis, they had a meeting with the President of the Hellenic Republic, Tasoulas.

After leaving Croatia, Papastavrou assessed the participation of the national delegation, summing up: “The Three Seas Initiative Summit has been completed. The leading role of our country, our homeland, in the energy security and independence of the region of South-Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans was clearly demonstrated. The energy agreements signed last November at the European Energy Summit in P-TEC are the flagship for the energy security of Southeast Europe.”