An important step in the expansion of regional energy cooperation was taken today in Thessaloniki with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the companies participating in the Vertical Corridor initiative. The participating companies formally welcomed NOMAGAS of North Macedonia and Transportgas Serbia of Serbia to the initiative, further expanding the Vertical Corridor into the Western Balkans.

The signing took place in Thessaloniki, on the sidelines of the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum (SEEF), in the presence of the Greek Deputy Minister for the Environment & Energy, Nikos Tsafos, the Bulgarian, Minister of Energy, Iva Petrova, the North Macedonian Minister for Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, Sanja Božinovska, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Artem Rybchenko, the Serbian Assistant Minister for Energy and Mining, Jovana Joksimović, the Romanian State Secretary of Energy,  Cristian-Silviu Bușoi.

The ceremony was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, U.S. Special Envoy for Energy Joshua Volz, Chargé Affairs of the U.S Εmbassy at North Macedonia Nicole Varnes, the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Takas and the Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Papastavrou. 

With the addition of the two new members, the Vertical Corridor now brings together:

• Greece: DESFA, Gastrade
• Bulgaria: ICGB, Bulgartransgaz
• Romania: Transgaz
• Hungary: FGSZ
• Slovakia: Eustream
• Ukraine: GTSOU
• Moldova: Vestmoldtransgaz
• North Macedonia: NOMAGAS
• Serbia: Transportgas Serbia

The expansion reflects the continued cooperation among the participating companies, with the support of the Energy Ministers of the countries involved, strengthen security of supply, diversify supply sources and routes, and enhance regional interconnectivity.

Through the new MoU, the participating companies will further coordinate the development and operation of their interconnected transmission systems, focusing on optimizing the use of existing infrastructure, identifying additional infrastructure needs, enhancing bidirectional gas-flow capabilities, and expanding cross-border capacity. Cooperation will also continue at regulatory, technical and commercial level, with the aim of making the Vertical Corridor more flexible, competitive and attractive to the market.

With the participation of North Macedonia and Serbia, the Vertical Corridor is expanding further into the Western Balkans, strengthening its key role as a regional energy route connecting diversified supply sources with markets across Southeast and Central Europe.