Greece signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 4 September to expand the Vertical Corridor gas pipeline network into the Western Balkans, formally bringing Serbia and North Macedonia into the project, Greek Energy and Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou said.
The memorandum was signed during a quadrilateral ministerial meeting of Greece, Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Papastavrou said the signing marked another important step for the energy security of Southeastern and Central Europe and strengthened Greece's strategic role in the continent's new energy map.
Delivering on a May commitment
Papastavrou said the signing put into practice a commitment made on 14 May in Athens, when Greece, Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria held a quadrilateral ministerial meeting on further expanding the Vertical Corridor. He said that a few months later, Serbia and North Macedonia were now joining the corridor, turning regional cooperation into a concrete result.
He said he wanted to congratulate the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator, known as DESFA, and its chief executive, Maria Sferruzza, for their essential contribution to the outcome. DESFA operates Greece's national natural gas transmission network and has been central to developing cross-border pipeline links in the region. The Vertical Corridor is a north-south gas transmission route connecting Greece with countries in Central and Southeastern Europe, part of a broader effort to link national gas grids across the Balkans.
Greece as an energy gateway
Papastavrou said Greece, positioned at the southeastern edge of Europe, was emerging as a safe gateway for the entry and transport of energy to the north. He said that with Greece and its strategic energy infrastructure at the centre, the Vertical Corridor now linked more countries, diversified supply sources and routes, and strengthened the stability and resilience of energy supply across the region.
He added that the project was not simply connecting energy infrastructure but connecting countries around a shared strategic goal: a safer, more interconnected and energy-independent Europe.
