EU to allocate up to €12 billion for development of the Middle Corridor to link the Caucasus and Central Asia with Europe

The European Union plans to attract up to €12 billion in investment for the development of the Middle Corridor, which is intended to directly link the South Caucasus and Central Asia with the European market.

As Report informs, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this while delivering her State of the European Union address in the European Parliament.

"This will be a new international connectivity project. It will directly link the South Caucasus and Central Asia with the European market — what we call the Middle Corridor," von der Leyen said.

According to her, the EU intends to use the Global Gateway initiative to attract up to €12 billion in public and private investment for this project.

"Our goal is to diversify routes, triple trade flows, and drastically reduce cargo transit times by 2030," von der Leyen said.

She also announced the holding of a regional summit on connectivity issues together with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. According to the head of the European Commission, the summit will be aimed at turning the project into a practical reality.

The Middle Corridor runs through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus and is viewed by the EU as one of the routes for diversifying trade ties. For Brussels, the development of transport and other infrastructure in the region is also linked to the expansion of economic ties with the states of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Von der Leyen linked the development of such partnerships to changes in the international system and the need for the EU to independently strengthen the resilience of its supply chains and protect its economic interests.