Greece adds another member – and sea – to Three Seas initiative

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The members of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) will gather for its annual summit, entitled 3SI Investing into a Resilient Tomorrow, Business Forum 2023, on Wednesday and Thursday 6-7 September.

The 3SI groups Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations located between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic seas: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Mediterranean country Greece will become a member of the Three Seas Initiative, according to the Greek City Times, expanding the alliance to 13 states and a fourth sea – the Aegean.

Last June, Ukraine was granted the status of a 3SI partner-participant, becoming a “participating partner” in the initiative. Now Moldova will become the second country to receive this status, the Greek outlet added.

Russia, decarbonisation on agenda

3SI, also known as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea Initiative or simply the Three Seas, is a collaborative forum that aims to facilitate the presentation of a unified front and harmonising policies related to energy, digitalisation, transportation and investment, to build a resilient, efficient, and low-carbon economy.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 3SI finds itself on the frontline of Russia’s energy-related challenges in Europe, in need of the development of new energy connections. At the Bucharest summit, leaders will evaluate the region’s progress and outline the next steps towards energy diversification.

In addition to many of the premiers and heads of state of the 3SI members, confirmed attendees for the energy section include Italian Deputy Business Minister Valentino Valentini, UK Business Secretary Nusrat Ghani and World Bank Regional Director for EU Countries Marina Wes.

Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis said “Romania took on the role of organizing the 8th edition of the 3SI Summit at a decisive stage (when) the 3SI has to respond to the need of defining (sic) the relationship with a geopolitically reconfigured neighbourhood under the impact of the brutal war of Russian Federation against Ukraine.

“The guiding principles of our agenda stems from the conviction that ‘together we are stronger’, and this is the spirit of the Bucharest Summit I will host this autumn, on 6-7 September.  Now, more than ever, it is high time to implement the 3SI objectives and deliver concrete results for the benefit of the entire region,” according to Iohannis.

Three Seas history

3SI was officially launched in 2015 by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic with the vision of CEE-wide collaboration. The initiative had its inaugural summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in 2016.

The current 3SI members collectively cover 29% of the EU’s land area, or 1,210,000sqm and 25% of its population, or 110,000 million people. Economically, they contribute EUR 2.3tn, or one-seventh, of the EU’s nominal GDP. The historical roots of the 3SI can be traced back to the interwar Intermarium concept.