Thessaloniki, September 4th, 2026 – An important step in the expansion of regional energy cooperation was taken today with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the companies participating in the Vertical Corridor initiative. GASTRADE and the participating companies formally welcomed NOMAGAS of North Macedonia and Transportgas Serbia of Serbia to the initiative, further expanding the Vertical Corridor into the Western Balkans.
The signing took place in Thessaloniki, on the sidelines of the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum (SEEF), in the presence of the Greek Deputy Minister for the Environment & Energy, Nikos Tsafos, the Bulgarian, Minister of Energy, Iva Petrova, the North Macedonian Minister for Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, Sanja Božinovska, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Recovery, Infrastructure and Transport, Artem Rybchenko, the Serbian Assistant Minister for Energy and Mining, Jovana Joksimović, the Romanian State Secretary of Energy, Cristian-Silviu Bușoi, the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Takas and the Honorary Consul of Slovakia in Thessaloniki, Dimitrios Papastavrou.
The ceremony was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, U.S. Special Envoy for Energy Joshua Volz & the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S Εmbassy at North Macedonia Nicole Varnes.
With the addition of the two new members, the Vertical Corridor now brings together:
- Greece: DESFA, Gastrade
- Bulgaria: ICGB, Bulgartransgaz
- Romania: Transgaz
- Hungary: FGSZ
- Slovakia: Eustream
- Ukraine: GTSOU
- Moldova: Vestmoldtransgaz
- North Macedonia: NOMAGAS
- Serbia: Transportgas Serbia
The expansion reflects the continued cooperation among the participating companies, with the support of the Energy Ministers of the countries involved, strengthen security of supply, diversify supply sources and routes, and enhance regional interconnectivity.
Through the new MoU, the participating companies will further coordinate the development and operation of their interconnected transmission systems, focusing on optimizing the use of existing infrastructure, identifying additional infrastructure needs, enhancing bidirectional gas-flow capabilities and expanding cross-border capacity. Cooperation will also continue at regulatory, technical and commercial level, with the aim of making the Vertical Corridor more flexible, competitive and attractive to the market.
With the participation of North Macedonia and Serbia, the Vertical Corridor is expanding further into the Western Balkans, strengthening its key role as a regional energy route connecting diversified supply sources with markets across Southeast and Central Europe.
Konstantinos Sifnaios, Managing Director of GASTRADE, stated:
“Today’s signing marking the expansion of the Vertical Corridor to include Serbia and North Macedonia constitutes an important milestone in broadening alternative energy sources and routes towards the Western Balkans and the markets of Central Europe.
It further enhances the Corridor’s momentum and reinforces Greece’s strategic role as a reliable energy gateway to Southeast and Central Europe. Alexandroupolis is at the heart of this dynamic, with the Alexandroupolis LNG Terminal and the Thrace LNG project currently under development.
Gastrade is proud to play a leading role in this effort to shape a safer, more stable and more resilient European energy system.”