The trilateral agreement between Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania on the Aegean–Black Sea Corridor, a strategic rail and road axis linking the three countries via Alexandroupolis, was signed today in Brussels. The agreement was signed by the Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas; the Greek Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Konstantinos Kyranakis; the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Grozdan Karadzov; and the Romanian Deputy Minister of Transport, Ionut Christian Sevoiu. It marks the strengthening of cross-border cooperation and the launch of a project of high geopolitical and economic importance for the region.

The war in Ukraine, the strategic confrontation with Russia, the redesign of Europe’s defense and energy security architecture under the lens of the new “aggressive and unconventional” U.S. foreign policy, provide, after several decades, a favorable opportunity for Greece to emerge as an energy hub and a provider of security in the wider region.

Greece’s initiatives and proposals for the development of a European air defense “shield,” as well as for addressing threats not only on the EU’s eastern but also southern borders, are included in the roadmap for the Union’s Defense Readiness by 2030, presented on Thursday by the European Commission.