The political initiative to create a railway link between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania for communication with Ukraine was taken by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras.
The statement was made at the summit in Varna (Bulgaria), held on October 9. Following the initiative of the Prime Minister, Mr. Staikouras promoted the idea of launching a train as part of the “European Solidarity Routes” to diversify the commercial links of Mediterranean ports with Ukraine. Official letters of request were sent to Adina – Ioanna Valean (Minister of Transport EU), Minister of Finance of Bulgaria Assen Vasilev, Minister of Transport and Communications of Bulgaria Georgiy Gvozdeykov and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania Sorin – Mihai Grindean.
In particular, the railway at the first pilot stage will connect the ports of Alexandroupolis and Thessaloniki with the ports of Ruse in Bulgaria and Constanta in Romania, with Moldova and Ukraine.
The initiative was taken by Mr. Staikouras because the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created economic and energy challenges that significantly impact the integrity of the supply chain as well as the energy security of states.
According to the Greek minister, the plan represents an important opportunity to overcome existing obstacles, as well as to provide alternative options in the trade relations of states, while strengthening transport links and international freight transport.
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