Last week at a ceremony at Gyueshevo Railway Station, at the border between the two countries, Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister and minister of transport and communications, Grozdan Karadjov, and North Macedonia’s deputy prime minister and minister of transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski, signed the agreement on the preparation, construction and operation of the cross-border railway tunnel.
The European Commission is providing significant financial support for the project which will create a 2.4km tunnel between Gyueshevo in Bulgaria and Deve Bair in North Macedonia.
The tunnel is an integral element of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and is part of a flagship initiative under the EU’s Global Gateway.
“Joint work on cross-border initiatives like this reinforces good neighbourly relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia – a key element in the latter’s EU accession process,” the European Commission said in a statement.
EU Council president Antonio Costa also welcomed the development. He said the agreement was “a big step forward in the co-operation between the two countries and promotes good neighbourly relations”.
“Besides developing bilateral bonds, the new railway will boost regional prosperity, and enhance our common security,” Costa said in a post on X.
Corridor 8 connects the Adriatic Sea with the Black Sea through Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
