site.btaNo Answer from Skopje for Over Three Months Concerning Cross-border Tunnel Agreement – Bulgarian Transport Ministry

Bulgaria has received no answer from North Macedonia for more than three months concerning the draft agreement to build a cross-border tunnel to link the two countries’ railway systems as part of Pan-European Corridor VIII. Instead, Skopje periodically insists on holding meetings without a clear purpose and a concrete agenda, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a position statement on Wednesday.

The draft agreement was proposed on January 15, the ministry recalled. The press release noted that this is the only outstanding issue between the two neighbours related to railway transport, which is not only important for them but also represents a major component of NATO’s collective security architecture and connectivity among the EU member states, the ministry said.

According to it, Bulgaria is ready to sign an agreement immediately and take prompt steps to build the tunnel. If Skopje has objections to the proposed text, Sofia is willing to discuss them, but it needs information.

Skopje’s apparent reluctance to comment on the proposed draft or to confirm its willingness to sign the text as it is, jeopardizes the timely building of Corridor VIII, which is exceedingly important for the collective security of NATO and the EU, the ministry said. While waiting for an answer from North Macedonia and engaging the attention of its partners in NATO and the EU to the issue, Bulgaria will continue to build and upgrade the sections in its territory, having invested more than BGN 4 billion in them, the ministry said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Transport Ministry of North Macedonia accused Bulgaria of "distorting the facts" regarding the agreement to build the cross-border tunnel, as reported by Nezavisen.mk. The statement was issued in response to comments made on Monday by Bulgarian Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadjov, who said that Bulgaria is fully ready to sign an agreement and begin construction on the tunnel.