Commissioner Cretu: Three Seas Initiative supports common EU objective, bringing Eastern, Western Europe closer

The Three Seas Initiative comes to support the common goal of the European Union, that of making Eastern and Western Europe get together, declared, on Monday, the European Commissioner for Regional Development, Corina Cretu. 

"I have the honor of talking on behalf of the president of the European Commission, Mr. Jean Claude Juncker. The European Commission's main message is of great appreciation towards this Initiative of the Three Seas. As you all know, last week, during his speech concerning the state of the European Union, President Juncker highlighted that he wishes for us to make larger efforts in order to bring Eastern and Western Europe closer together, at both the European Commission's level, as well as at the level of the member states, and the Three Seas Initiative comes to support this common objective. It is a very relevant and legitimate initiative, that contributes to the regional development, thus enhancing the cohesion process at the level of the entire European Union. An initiative that can offer prosperity and security, in equal parts, for the member states. There were talks here about the gaps that exist, unfortunately, on our continent, not only between East and West, but within some member states. If we look to the Transportation field, in Central and Eastern Europe the same distance takes twice the duration it takes in the Western states of the European Union," Cretu said, during the first edition of the Three Seas Initiative Business Forum, held at Romexpo, on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit. 

The Commissioner for Regional Development also mentioned that the European forum supports the common objective of the heads of states and governments, that of identifying common projects in the fields of energy, transportation and digital technologies. 

"We (the EC, ed. n.) encourage in achieving transnational projects in these fields, and the structural and investment funds, which I have the honor of managing in this committee, could contribute to accomplishing them, together with the private sector, of course. Only by bringing together small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups and all interested parties from the business environment to the first edition of the Business Forum, will contribute, without any doubt, to creating favorable conditions for launching concrete actions," Corina Cretu said. 

She underlined that the Bucharest Summit represents a unique opportunity to reiterate the importance for the European Union of a high level of connectivity between Central and Eastern Europe, whether it is about the energy, the transportation or the digital sector. 

"Continuous geopolitical tension from the Middle East, the more and more obvious effects of climate change, the commercial disputes, the refugee and the migrant crisis, all these phenomena had negative effects on the economic and social balance of Europe. Yet, the European Union, our Union, must remain united, robust and innovative, in order to face the difficult commercial negotiations, in order to be one step ahead of the global competition, in order for it to be independent and strong in the face of external shocks. In this respect, the European Union salutes the desire of continuing to deepen transatlantic relations, relations between the European Union, its member states and the United States of America," Cretu pointed out.