Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou on Friday received Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy, Iva Petrova. Following their meeting, the two ministers joined discussions involving representatives of DESFA and the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of the Vertical Gas Corridor countries – Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, North Macedonia and Serbia – as well as representatives of Gastrade and ICGB.

According to the ministry, this meeting marks the launch of the technical work required to extend the Vertical Corridor initiative to North Macedonia and Serbia, following the political decision taken during the four-party ministerial meeting organised in Athens on 15 May.

In statements at the meeting, Papastavrou noted: “We are building the Vertical Corridor into a dense and reliable regional energy network, with the participation of all countries in the region, without waiting for initiatives from others. It is clear that there is very strong political support from our governments, and this is precisely what Ms Petrova and I reaffirmed this morning. The integration of the energy market can serve as a first step towards the inclusion of the Western Balkans in the European family. Earlier today, Ms Petrova and I agreed to cooperate on the preparation of a policy paper for the Energy Council, which will set out, in a highly specific, ambitious yet realistic manner, the shared vision of our countries and our Transmission System Operators regarding the actions required to strengthen and accelerate this undertaking. We aim to create a reliable and interconnected energy system in South-Eastern and Central Europe by taking the initiative ourselves – both at the political level and through the Transmission System Operators – and by proposing specific projects to Brussels that will remove existing obstacles and improve the region’s energy efficiency.”

On her part Petrova said that “this is not merely a matter of plans or intentions; there is genuine progress. We greatly appreciate all the efforts being made to advance this initiative even further. I agree with Mr Papastavrou that when we launched this project, our objective was to address the challenges associated with the gradual reduction of dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Today, however, given the geopolitical challenges we face, energy security is also economic security, resilience and national security. That is why it is extremely important that we move forward with this initiative. I firmly believe that we must maintain the current momentum and accelerate our efforts even further. What we would really like to present is a clear proposal originating from the region itself, backed by strong political support, so that we can continue and accelerate the implementation of these projects, because time is pressing. The geopolitical challenges of today and the developments unfolding in our region, combined with the gradual phase-out of Russian natural gas, do not allow us the luxury of waiting or deliberating indefinitely. We must act and deliver results quickly.”