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May 12, 2020
The Three Seas Initiative
The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a regional effort in
Europe to expand cross-border energy, transportation, and
digital infrastructure and boost economic development in
the area between the Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea, and Black
Sea. Twelve countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia), all of which are
members of the European Union (EU), participate in the
3SI (see Figure 1).
The U.S. government, as well as some Members of
Congress, have indicated strong backing for the 3SI. In
October 2019, a resolution was introduced in the House of
Representatives expressing support of the Three Seas
Initiative in its efforts to increase energy independence and
infrastructure connectivity thereby strengthening the United
States and European national security (H.Res. 672). In
February 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
announced a U.S. commitment of up to $1 billion in
financing for 3SI countries to promote energy security and
economic growth.
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The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 by the
presidents of Croatia and Poland, and the first annual
summit was held in 2016. The 3SI is structured as a flexible
platform for generating funding and promoting deeper
cooperation among its participating countries; one
overarching goal is to develop a north-south infrastructure
corridor in the region. In part as a legacy of the Soviet
Union's Cold War-era dominance over most of the region,
east-west infrastructure remains considerably more
developed than north-south linkages. Particularly with
regard to energy security, the dominance of east-west
pipelines and limited alternatives to them have been factors
in continuing energy dependence on Russia. The United
States and the 3SI countries frequently have expressed
concern over Russia's energy supply dominance in the
region. Such concerns have been enhanced by Nord Stream
2 and TurkStream, pipeline projects that would expand
Russia's capacity to deliver natural gas to Europe. Many
observers consider the expansion of energy infrastructure
(including liquefied natural gas [LNG] terminals) to be key
to opening up new routes for alternative suppliers.
Supporters also view the 3SI as a potential counterbalance
to China's interest in participating in regional infrastructure
projects as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative.
Another main objective of the 3SI is to stimulate economic
development and level regional disparities within the EU.
According to EU data, the 3SI region remains less well-off
economically compared with the rest of the EU; the 3SI
countries comprise just under 30% of EU territory and 22%
of its population but account for 10% of the EU's gross
domestic product (the EU data predate Brexit and so
include the United Kingdom). Infrastructure gaps are
considered to be a factor behind regional economic
disparities. According to EU data, road and rail travel in the
3SI region take, on average, roughly two to four times
longer than comparable travel in the rest of the EU.
Figure I. Three Seas Initiative
Source: Map created by CRS.
High-level officials from the United States (including
President Trump in 2017), the EU, and other EU member
states such as Germany have joined annual 3SI summits to
express their support as interested partners. The next
summit is scheduled to be held in Tallinn, Estonia, in
October 2020 and is expected to focus on digital
transformation and infrastructure.
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At the 2018 summit, the 3SI countries developed a list of 48
priority interconnection projects spanning the energy,
transportation, and digital sectors (see Table 1).
CouttriesParticipatig in the Three Seas 4itiative
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