Welcome to the ViaCarpatia Network website

The Three Seas Initiative is a forum for international cooperation bringing together 13 countries located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Three Seas Initiative was officially established in 2016 during the first summit. Three Seas Initiative in Dubrovnik on the initiative of the heads of state of Croatia and Poland.

The aim of the Three Seas Group is mainly cooperation in the following areas: energy, logistics and transport, and IT and telecommunications in Central and Eastern Europe. The main goal of the established initiative is to develop these fields on the north-south axis.

The most important tool for joint activities are the annual summits of the Three Seas Initiative organized in individual member states. During the previous summits, a number of declarations and agreements were signed aimed at joint activities. One of the most important actions was the establishment of the Three Seas Fund, which is to finance joint infrastructure projects. The Three Seas Initiative and the projects proposed within it are fully compatible with the European Union’s policy. This is important because it opens the way for EU financing of the most important projects.

The Three Seas Initiative is intended primarily to develop the infrastructure network, develop cyberspace and increase energy security. The most important infrastructure projects include: the Via Carpatia route, which is to connect the Baltic states with the countries of the Balkan Peninsula; Rail Baltica, a railway network that will improve rail communication in the northern Three Seas area, as well as projects related to the Adriatic-Baltic transport corridor. In energy security, the most important issue is the diversification of energy sources. To this end, member states strive to expand gas ports and gas pipeline networks. In the IT and telecommunications area, the most important thing is to improve data security and modernize the current Internet network.

The Three Seas Initiative also means cooperation at the local level. Local governments actively cooperate with each other on various levels. In addition to cross-border cooperation, broader formats of interregional cooperation are also initiated. One example is the Local Government Three Seas Congress, organized from 2021. This forum serves to strengthen inter-governmental cooperation as part of the Three Seas Initiative. Throughout the three editions of this event, thousands of representatives of local governments, central authorities, the diplomatic corps, as well as the world of science, business and international relations took part. One of the effects of the organized forum is the creation of a network of Three Seas regions, which is to be used to implement joint projects.