On 17 June 2021, the national coordinators of the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) countries convened for a meeting in a video format. In preparation for the TSI Summit and a business forum to be held in Bulgaria this coming 8–9 July, twelve representatives of countries from the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas along with their strategic partners – the USA, Germany, and the European Commission – discussed the goals of the upcoming summit, the TSI’s prospects for development in the future, as well as the desired outcomes of the event.
Andris Pelšs thanked Bulgaria for efforts invested in the organisation of this year’s TSI Summit. Latvia considers the TSI to be a cooperation platform of strategic importance for the strengthening EU level cohesion and transatlantic links. The State Secretary informed the participants that the TSI Summit in Sofia will be attended by the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, together with a business delegation.
At the video conference, the State Secretary underlined that the TSI is creating better preconditions for the development of connectivity between the region’s countries, as well as offering additional opportunities for levelling out and reducing differences in the quality of the European transport, energy and digital infrastructure. The TSI Investment Fund can be a valuable platform complementing the existing financial instruments. At this point, it is essential to achieve that infrastructure project of high importance for the entire region are implemented. One of the preconditions for successful development of regional projects is reinforcing cooperation between the TSI countries at various levels of the public and private sectors alike.
Andris Pelšs welcomed the involvement of the USA and its support for the TSI as well as the intention it has declared to make a financial contribution to the TSI Investment Fund. Further involvement of the strategic partners – the USA, Germany, and the European Commission – and their support for the Initiative is of key importance for the entire region. The participants also expressed support for the principles of the Blue Dot Network related to the transparency of investments, sustainability, stability and responsibility in the implementation of international infrastructure projects.
The participants in this meeting were in agreement that strengthening mutual cooperation to stimulate the region’s economic growth is a common goal for all TSI countries and strategic partners.
Background information
The Three Sea Initiative (TSI) launched in 2016 is a regional economic cooperation platform established with the aim of bridging the existing connectivity gaps in the energy, transport infrastructure and digital communication sectors, reinforcing EU-level cohesion and the transatlantic bond. Previous Three Seas Initiative Summits took place in Croatia (2016), Poland (2017), Romania (2018), Slovenia (2019) and Estonia (2020); the sixth TSI Summit is to take place in Bulgaria on 8–9 July 2021.
The TSI consists of the 12 EU countries that are located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. TSI partners are the USA, Germany and the European Commission.
The TSI was established with the goal developing a strong regional economic backbone, and providing a strategic platform for the implementation of major infrastructure projects. On 16 September 2020, a Latvian state-owned development finance institution, ALTUM, officially joined the TSI Investment Fund. Countries that have joined the TSI Investment Fund are Poland, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Find additional information on the Three Seas Initiative at: http://www.3seas.eu