Poland intends to create a new transport corridor that will connect the country’s logistics centers to the Slovenian port of Koper. This was the main topic on the agenda of a meeting of the transport ministers of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia that took place in Budapest on 4 February, according to Polish media reports.
The final decision on the nature of the corridor has not yet been made. At the meeting in Budapest, the ministers agreed on a preliminary route: Koper-Ljubljana-Zalaszentivan-Sopron/Chorna-Rajka-Bratislava-Katowice/Krakow-Warsaw-Terespol (border with Belarus). The corridor is expected to have a branch to Serbia: Rajka-Leopoldov-Komárom-Budapest-Kelebija (border with Serbia).
The new corridor is important not only to the countries involved, but also to their neighbors, primarily Belarus and Serbia.
A draft letter of intent, which will be sent to the European Commission, was written after the meeting. In addition, Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction plans to analyze the economic potential of the corridor and make a detailed forecast on its prospects.
As reported, the formal procedure for creation of the corridor has not yet begun. It will be launched after the letter of intent is sent to the European Commission with the signatures of officials from all the interested countries. According to Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction, this should happen in the coming weeks.
According to the European legislation, the European Commission may consider the proposal within nine months. The new corridor will be created within two years if the decision on it is positive.
