Bulgaria and the European Commission will co-organize a regional summit focused on the Middle Corridor, a new connectivity project linking the South Caucasus and Central Asia directly with the European market. The European Union plans to attract up to €12 billion in public and private investment for the project.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the initiative during her annual State of the European Union address.
“We will organize a regional connectivity summit with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria,” von der Leyen said, referring to Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
She described the Middle Corridor as a new international connectivity project designed to strengthen links between Europe and the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
The investments are expected to be mobilized through the EU’s Global Gateway initiative. According to von der Leyen, the project aims to diversify transport routes, triple trade flows and significantly reduce the time needed to transport goods by 2030.
“Our goal is to diversify routes, triple trade flows, and significantly reduce cargo transit times by 2030,” she said.
Von der Leyen linked the project to the EU’s broader efforts to expand its international economic connections. She noted that free trade agreements had been signed this year with India, Mercosur, Mexico, Australia and Indonesia.
“We now have trade agreements in place with more than 80 countries—more than anyone else in the world. And our businesses want more,” she said.
The European Commission president also stressed the wider strategic importance of strengthening international connectivity, saying that Europe’s prosperity and security would not be built solely within its borders.
The State of the European Union address was described by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola as the most important event on the Parliament’s annual calendar.
Bulgaria has been mentioned several times in previous State of the Union addresses delivered by European Commission presidents.
In 2016, then-Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker referred to Bulgaria in connection with protecting the EU’s external borders and the migration crisis.
A year later, Juncker again mentioned Bulgaria, this time in the context of the country’s accession to the Schengen Area and the eurozone. He said it was time for Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen Area and emphasized that all EU members share responsibility for protecting the Union’s external borders.
Von der Leyen also highlighted Bulgaria and Romania in her 2023 State of the Union address, calling for their admission to Schengen without further delay.
“They have proven it: Bulgaria and Romania are part of our Schengen Area. So let us finally admit them—without any further delay,” she said at the time.
Von der Leyen also thanked both countries for demonstrating what she described as best practices in asylum procedures and the return of migrants who had entered the EU illegally.
The planned summit on the Middle Corridor marks another appearance of Bulgaria in the European Commission’s broader efforts to strengthen transport, trade and connectivity between Europe and Asia.