The European Union Member States situated between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia: Having recognized the importance of connecting Central and Eastern European economies and infrastructure from North to South, in order to complete the single European market, given that so far, most efforts served to connect Europe’s East and West;
Having acknowledged the advancements achieved in this regard through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the synergetic effect of the European Union macro-regional strategies;
Convinced that by expanding the existing cooperation in energy, transportation, digital communication and economic sectors, Central and Eastern Europe will become more secure, safe and competitive, thus contributing to making the European Union more resilient as a whole;
Agreeing that the momentum behind a comprehensive Adriatic–Baltic–Black Sea area cooperation, both within the European Union and across the broader transatlantic space, has to be reinvigorated, without creating a parallel structure to the existing mechanisms of cooperation;
Have endorsed The Three Seas Initiative as an informal platform for securing political support and decisive action on specific cross-border and macro-regional projects of strategic importance to the States involved in energy, transportation, digital communication and economic sectors in Central and Eastern Europe;
Have confirmed that The Three Seas Initiative is open to partnerships on specific projects with interested state or business actors from around the world who are committed to the fundamental values and principles of the European Union;
Have welcomed the announcement to hold the next high-level meeting of The Three Seas Initiative in June 2017 in Wroclaw.
Dubrovnik, 25 August 2016.
Source: 3 Seas Initiative Summit, The Joint Statement on the Three Seas Initiative (The Dubrovnik Statement, 25 August 2016)
