The investments made by Transgaz to increase the degree of interconnectivity and to have more options in the region and in the European Union can help us to be more resilient in the face of the challenges of an energy sector in constant dynamics, said the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Energy, Cristian Bușoi, at the signing of the extension of the Vertical Corridor to North Macedonia and Serbia
“Energy security is one of the most important dimensions of national security, because energy is the foundation of the functioning of any modern state – from the economy and critical infrastructures, to the well-being of the population and political stability. Energy security is an essential condition for national security, because without secure and stable energy there cannot be a functional economy, resilient infrastructure or efficient defense. In the current geopolitical context, it becomes a strategic pillar of national and European security policy. The Romanian Government has constantly supported initiatives that strengthen national, regional and European energy security, and I am referring here to to the Vertical Corridor, as a solution to diversify gas supply sources and routes and reduce external dependencies, a solution with clear benefits for energy security in the Balkan region and Central and Eastern Europe. The investments made by Transgaz, to increase the degree of interconnectivity and to have more options in the region and in the European Union, can help us to be more resilient in the face of the challenges of an energy sector in continuous dynamics. Joining the strategic directions through which Romania strengthens its energy security and importance in the regional energy architecture, the Vertical Corridor initiative, by signing the Memorandum of Understanding on its extension to the Western Balkans, has reached another level of maturity”, said Bușoi, quoted in a Transgaz press release submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
He stressed that the new Vertical Corridor will bring prestige to Romania and energy security for the countries of Eastern Europe, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, but also for Central Europe, and a coordinated development of gas infrastructures in the countries along the Vertical Corridor route and interconnection capacities can contribute to the transformation of the region and the continent from the perspective of gas supply security and allow Romania to capitalize on its geostrategic position, transport network and future gas resources in the Neptun Deep perimeter in the Black Sea, to become a pole of economic development for Europe.
In the statement given on the occasion of the signing of the Memorandum, the General Director of SNTGN Transgaz, Ion Sterian, stated that the extension of the Vertical Corridor to North Macedonia and Serbia is of particular importance in terms of European and regional energy cooperation, contributing to the consolidation of regional energy connectivity, diversification and resilience, and the development of a more integrated, more competitive regional energy system.
“Today, September 4, 2026, we signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the expansion of the Vertical Corridor, a strategic concept that we initiated and that Romania and Transgaz have promoted and supported since 2016, the first Memorandum of Understanding being signed in Bucharest, in July 2017. The Vertical Corridor has evolved from one stage to another, managing to reach a new level of maturity. The initiative is now moving towards an integrated regional platform for energy cooperation, with the objective of strengthening security of supply, diversifying gas sources and routes, reducing dependence on Russian gas, the resilience of energy infrastructure and developing gas markets in South-Eastern and Central Europe, including the Western Balkans. The extension of the Vertical Corridor to North Macedonia and Serbia is of particular importance in terms of European and regional energy cooperation, contributing to strengthening regional energy connectivity, diversification and resilience, to the development of a more integrated, more competitive regional energy system. We will continue to coordinate our joint efforts for cooperation in terms of the development and operation of interconnected transmission systems, optimizing the use of existing infrastructure, identifying additional infrastructure needs, improving bidirectional gas flow capacities and expanding cross-border capacity, but also for attracting non-reimbursable financing to finance the necessary investments, cooperation at regulatory, technical and commercial levels, with the aim of making the Vertical Corridor more flexible, more competitive and more attractive to the market”, Sterian said, quoted by Agerpres.
According to him, the Vertical Gas Corridor represents a key element of energy cooperation between Romania, the United States and the states of Central, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and through its expansion, through the development of interconnections of the national natural gas transport systems of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, with those of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on the one hand, and with the national natural gas transport systems of Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany on the other hand, this North-South corridor creates a modern, safe and efficient infrastructure, capable of ensuring bidirectional gas flows and meeting the increasingly complex needs of the regional energy market.
The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on the expansion of the Vertical Corridor was attended by the Ministers of Energy of Greece (Stavros Papastavrou), Bulgaria (Iva Petrova), Cyprus (Michael Damianos), North Macedonia (Sanja Bozinovska), the Secretary of State within the Ministry of Energy of Romania (Cristian Bușoi) and the General Directors of the natural gas transmission and system operators: DESFA (Greece), ICGB (Bulgaria), Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), Vestmoldtransgaz (Moldova), FGSZ (Hungary), EUSTREAM (Slovakia), GTSOU (Ukraine), NOMAGAS (North Macedonia) and Transportgas Srbija (Serbia), Gastrade Greece, as well as the US Ambassador to Greece – Kimberly Guilfoyle, Nicole Varnes – Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in North Macedonia and Joshua Volz – Special Envoy for Energy Integration within the US Department of Energy.