Serbia and North Macedonia join corridor coordination in Athens
Transportgas Srbija and North Macedonia’s NOMAGAS took part in the Vertical Gas Corridor’s latest coordination meeting in Athens for the first time. Their attendance signals a formal enlargement of a network already involving Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine. The corridor is designed to connect Greek import infrastructure with Central Europe and the Western Balkans.
The initiative’s participants include Greece’s DESFA, Gastrade and ICGB, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz, Romania’s Transgaz, Moldova’s Vestmoldtransgaz, Hungary’s FGSZ, Slovakia’s EUSTREAM and Ukraine’s GTSOU. The expanded scope is described as moving beyond the corridor’s original Southeast European footprint.
Memorandum revision and joint technical-commercial assessment
The operators agreed to revise the initiative’s memorandum of understanding to allow Serbia and North Macedonia to be incorporated into governance and technical planning. A joint technical and commercial working group will evaluate cross-border capacity and long-term demand. It will also examine tariff structures and the investment needed to make the route commercially sustainable.
The working group’s remit covers both commercial parameters and the level of investment required for viability. The assessment is linked to how capacity is allocated across borders and how demand commitments are structured for the corridor.
Gas flows from Greek LNG and non-Russian supply routes
The corridor’s strategic case focuses on moving gas northwards from LNG terminals in Greece, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and other non-Russian supply routes. The project description notes that pipelines alone do not guarantee competitive flows. Shippers are expected to face accumulated entry and exit tariffs as gas moves through multiple national systems.
Tariff optimisation and coordinated capacity allocation are therefore presented as key determinants of whether the corridor operates as a regularly used market route or remains primarily an energy-security option. The next phase depends on whether regional utilities and industrial buyers are prepared to reserve long-term capacity at tariffs competitive with established supply routes.
Potential role of Serbia storage and Western Balkans linkage
Serbia’s participation is described as potentially improving economics by adding a sizeable national market. It would also connect the corridor with storage capacity at Banatski Dvor and with future Serbian interconnectors. This is framed in terms of strengthening transit and storage functions rather than limiting activity to final importation.
North Macedonia is described as providing another link between Greek infrastructure and the Western Balkans. Its inclusion is expected to support diversification away from a system historically dependent on a single supply direction through Bulgaria. The enlarged corridor would connect Southeast Europe, Central Europe and the Western Balkans via a broader network of LNG terminals, interconnectors and national transmission systems.
