Balkans losing money from non-completed Corridor 8

TIRANA, March 25 – Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania are losing at least one billion Euro because of the unfinished Corridor 8 road and rail network, according to the Macedonian media based on the estimates from the Bulgarian authorities.
The three countries have signed numerous cooperation agreements on the project in the recent years.
While Bulgaria has been making some progress in recent years following its membership into the European Union, Macedonia and Albania are still behind.
the railway links between these countries are lacking, thus reducing the possibility of a railway link between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, which is of a great importance to trade between the three countries.
Corridor 8, one of the ten Trans-European Corridors, is intended to connect the two seas by starting at the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi, passing through Durres and Tirana in Albania, the Macedonian and Bulgarian capitals and ending at the Black Sea ports of Burgas and Varna.
That route is considered significant due to its role in strengthening the links between the Balkan countries and improving stability in the region.