8 Things to Know About the 3SI

The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) yearly presidential and business summits are happening in Sofia this week. Here, we explain some common questions and misconceptions surrounding the 3SI to get you up to date with this lesser known regional initiative. Read more in our report here.

Why is it called the 3 Seas Initiative?

The reason for the name is due to the geographic location of the twelve 3SI countries located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas. The name has sparked some controversy due to its association with a Polish interwar idea of ‘Intermarum’, the failed predecessor of the 3SI which resembled more of a geopolitical and military project rather than an economic one. While not the best thought out name due to the Polish domineering connotation, it simply denotes the geographical positioning of the countries.

Who started the 3SI format, and what are the goals behind it?

The 3SI was started by the Polish and Croatian Presidents and held its first Summit in Dubrovnik in 2016. The reason for the Initiative was sparked by an Atlantic Council report entitled ‘Completing Europe’ which brought to light the lack of real connectivity within Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) due to its communist past. The goal of the 3SI is to support regional connectivity projects in the three areas of transport, digital (such as 5G connectivity), and energy (such as gas pipelines and LNG). Since 2016, the initiative has grown to add a business forum, a website and an investment fund (3SIIF).

How often do 3SI countries convene together, and who’s a part of it?

The 3SI is a presidential forum that is held yearly since 2016. It represents roughly a third of the EU’s territory, a quarter of its population and one-fifth of its GDP. Each year, one of the members hosts the forum and takes on a lead role in organising the event. Currently, there are 12 members of the initiative: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. There are also three observers that are invited each year, namely the USA, Germany and the EU. More can be invited to the summits, for example, the head of state of Greece was invited to this year’s Bulgarian summit. While there are only members and observers, lots of priority projects within the forum work with countries outside the initiative — a total of 13 non-EU countries have been involved in at least one infrastructure project.