Former Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Bulgaria holds a strategic position in the development of Europe’s emerging North-South infrastructure corridor, describing the country as an increasingly important hub linking transport, energy, and digital networks between the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean Seas. Speaking at the Green Transition forum in Sofia, he stressed that Bulgaria is becoming a central element in the Three Seas Initiative and in strengthening the European Union’s overall competitiveness.
Duda noted that Sofia should not be viewed as peripheral, but rather as positioned close to the center of this evolving connectivity map. “Sofia is not a periphery of this map. It is close to its center. The connections with the Black Sea, the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East give Bulgaria an exceptional strategic and economic value, which we are only beginning to fully realize,” he said.
He argued that Europe is approaching a critical turning point, with the next five to ten years likely to define the continent’s long-term trajectory. In his view, the European Union can remain competitive with the United States and China only if it significantly increases investment in technology, energy, and infrastructure, while adopting a more flexible industrial policy framework.
