On 15 January 2025, the Republic of Bulgaria proposed to the Republic of North Macedonia a Draft Intergovernmental Agreement for the preparation and construction of a cross-border railway tunnel facility connecting the railway network of the two countries.
This is the only open issue between the two countries in the field of rail transport, which, however, does not only have bilateral significance, but constitutes an important element of NATO's collective security architecture and connectivity between EU Member States.
The Republic of Bulgaria is ready to sign the Agreement immediately and to start immediate actions for the construction of the tunnel facility. If Skopje has objections to the proposed text, the Republic of Bulgaria is ready to talk about overcoming them, as long as it is aware of them.
For more than three months, there has been no response from the Republic of North Macedonia to the Draft Agreement. There is a periodic demand for meetings without a clear purpose and specific issues to discuss.
Skopje's unwillingness to comment on the proposed Draft or to confirm its readiness to sign the text in its current form threatens the timely construction of Transport Corridor VIII, which is extremely important for the collective security of NATO and the EU.
While waiting for a response from Skopje and mobilizing the attention of its partners in NATO and the EU to this problem, the Republic of Bulgaria will continue to build and modernize the sections of Corridor VIII on its territory, in which it has already invested over 4 BGN billion.