Bulgaria will host a connectivity summit in the first quarter of 2027. The government press office said the Council of Ministers has approved plans to prepare and organise it.
The press office said Bulgaria can be linked to the EU single market from east to west, and to Romania, Moldova and Ukraine from south to north, including through Kapitan Andreevo, Varna and Burgas.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the intercontinental connectivity initiative in September. She named Bulgaria as host of the summit that starts it. The Commission will take an active part at political level.
Talks will cover the EU's transport, logistics, energy, digital and industrial links with Turkey, the Middle East, the Gulf states, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The cabinet wants Bulgaria to become Europe's entry point and a connectivity hub for transport, logistics, energy and digital services.
The press office said the aim is to turn Bulgaria's location into a lasting economic advantage. Through the initiative, Bulgaria wants to help make Europe's links with its eastern and southern partners safer and more varied.
Prime minister Rumen Radev said the summit shows trust in the government's political will and initiative.
The prime minister is in charge of overall political coordination. A temporary inter-agency working group will lead the preparations and will be headed by a deputy foreign minister, appointed by order of the foreign minister. The foreign minister will coordinate the work and report to the prime minister.
The group will use work already done and information from the relevant institutions. It will not replace the existing systems for managing investment.
The summit will have an investment panel, where existing priority projects will be shown to potential partners. The aim is to attract outside capital, including private investment and EU funds.
The decision covers only the preparation and running of the summit and the presentation of existing projects. It does not approve their funding or delivery.
On 27 October we reported that a forum on the Vertical Transport Corridor would take place in Sofia on 6 November. The corridor is meant to link Black Sea and Aegean ports, including Burgas.
The working group has up to two months from the adoption of the decision to draw up a list of projects and materials to present them. The foreign minister will then submit the list to the Council of Ministers for approval.