Less known than the Visegrad Four, but its ambition overcoming anything, the signature countries have planned the Three Seas Initiative. The agreement, which is to economically and politically change Central and Eastern Europe, was made in 2015 and associates 12 signature EU countries with almost 112 million residents (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia).

The Three Seas Initiative has big plans with transportation and energy infrastructure and aims to integrate Central and Eastern Europe with the West. Besides enthusiasm, a common approach brings questions if it would  become a coalition of states opposed to Western Europe. Concerns are to be dissipated  with two observers: the European Union and Germany. In 2019, individual state leaders supported the creation of an investment fund as a tool for financing projects. The USA also wants to contribute to this fund.

This text will focus on the priorities that the Czech Republic should stand by within the Three Seas Initiative. What should be the Czech contribution to the created fund? And what impact will the Initiative have on EU relations?

Policy Brief – Karel Sál, September 2020

Full text in PDF under the link below.