Greece, Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria Advance Vertical Gas Corridor Expansion
Energy ministers and senior officials from Serbia, Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria met today in Athens to discuss the development of regional natural gas supply routes and cross-border interconnections. During the meeting, Greek Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou announced that the Vertical Corridor initiative would be extended to include North Macedonia and Serbia.
Greece, Bulgaria and Romania have already achieved significant progress in developing the Vertical Corridor, a strategic gas route designed to facilitate supplies toward Ukraine and Moldova. Key milestones include infrastructure upgrades, the construction of new pipelines such as the Interconnector Greece–Bulgaria (IGB), as well as commercial agreements and dedicated capacity auctions. The same approach is now being applied to the western Balkans through the creation of an additional branch of the corridor.
The Athens meeting focused primarily on two major gas interconnection projects: Greece–North Macedonia and North Macedonia–Serbia. The Greece–North Macedonia pipeline is currently under construction and is expected to be completed this year. Once operational, it will allow natural gas to flow northward from Greek LNG terminals at Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis, as well as from pipeline gas sources, including Azerbaijan.
Serbia Plans EUR 1.2 Billion in Gas Infrastructure Investments
The next segment of the regional gas chain, linking North Macedonia with Serbia, is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, according to Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović. The project is currently in the spatial planning phase and is designed to connect with the southern Serbian city of Vranje. Its planned annual transport capacity is 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
Minister Đedović Handanović also stated that Serbia intends to invest approximately EUR 1.2 billion in gas infrastructure, including the modernization and expansion of existing pipeline networks.
North Macedonian Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Božinovska emphasized that the regional interconnection would soon become operational.
“By the end of next year, we will be ready and the interconnection between Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia will be operational,” she said.
She also confirmed that the tender procedure for the pipeline connecting North Macedonia and Serbia was launched yesterday.
Greek Minister Papastavrou highlighted the broader strategic importance of the initiative, stressing Greece’s role in shaping the region’s emerging energy architecture.
“Greece plays a leading role in the new European architecture through projects of strategic importance. Infrastructure, interconnections, market coupling and the Vertical Corridor are initiatives that strengthen security of supply, reinforce geopolitical stability and create new development opportunities across the region. Today, we agreed on the expansion of the Vertical Corridor to North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as on institutionalizing cooperation among the four countries,” he stated.
Bulgaria was represented at the meeting by Deputy Minister of Energy Kiril Temelkov.
Further Regional Meetings Planned
The four officials agreed to continue their cooperation through a series of follow-up meetings. The next session is scheduled for September in Belgrade, with subsequent meetings planned in Skopje and Sofia.
The Athens discussions were also attended by representatives of gas and electricity transmission system operators from all four countries, underscoring the technical and strategic importance of the planned regional energy integration.
