Bulgaria’s Ministry of Innovation and Growth (MIG) announced support for a new regional partnership involving Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. This collaboration operates within the structure of the Three Seas Initiative (TSI), involving the European Investment Fund (EIF), an entity within the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. Representatives from the EIF and national promotional banks from the five Central and Southeastern European countries formalized this commitment by signing a Memorandum of Understanding in Dubrovnik on April 28.
This agreement aims to launch a regional initiative designed to enhance connectivity across the region later this year. The new partnership is projected to secure a minimum of EUR 2 billion in investments dedicated to vital infrastructure projects. The primary goal of the initiative is to mobilize public funding streams for diverse connectivity investments, spanning areas such as clean energy, transport networks, digital infrastructure, and social amenities.
Under the agreement, the five participating nations, through their respective national promotional banks, will jointly contribute EUR 250 million, which the EIF has committed to matching. This public funding mechanism is designed to attract substantial private capital toward the overall EUR 2 billion target. For Bulgaria, the MIG confirmed its backing for this regional cooperation through the extension of the JEREMIE initiative until 2035.
Within the framework of the TSI, the planned investments for infrastructure connectivity amount to up to EUR 25 million. This specific allocation represents one of four strategic areas under Bulgaria’s new ten-year investment strategy, complementing investments in deep tech, technology transfer, and defense and security.
Topics: #european #new #three
