About
The Three Seas Initiative is a flexible political platform, at Presidential level, launched in 2015. The Initiative includes the 12 EU Member States located between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The Dubrovnik Summit in 2016 opened the dialogue under the aegis of the Three Seas Initiative, followed in 2017 by the Warsaw Summit, where the 12 Three Seas Initiative states were joined by the US President, Donald Trump. The third Summit was hosted by Romania, in Bucharest, on 17-18 September 2018.
Overarching Goals
The Three Seas Initiative aims at stimulating more rapid development of the region stretching between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas. This is to be achieved through both high level and multi-stakeholder commitment to boosting connectivity among Member States, with special focus on infrastructure, energy and digital interconnectivity.
The improvement of the infrastructure connections of the 12 states is an essential condition for building an area of stability and prosperity, which in turn can greatly contribute to wider EU stability and prosperity. Setting a new dynamic of cooperation among the countries lying at the Eastern border of the EU on the North – South Axis will advance economic growth and help to bridge the East – West economic gap, within the EU.
The overarching pillars of the Three Seas Initiative are threefold - economic development, European cohesion and transatlantic ties.
Firstly, the Initiative seeks to contribute to the economic development of the Central and Eastern Europe through infrastructure connectivity, mainly, but not only on the North-South axis, in three main fields — transport, energy and digital.
The second objective is to increase real convergence among EU Member States, thereby contributing to enhanced unity and cohesion within the EU. This allows avoiding artificial East-West divides and further stimulate EU integration.
Thirdly, the Initiative is intended to contribute to the strengthening of transatlantic ties. The US economic presence in the region provides a catalyst for an enhanced transatlantic partnership.
Original article can be found @ThreeSeasInitiative
Close