Speaking during a visit to Slovenia which included a summit of Three Seas Initiative leaders, Vējonis said: “The Three Seas Initiative gives countries in the region the opportunity to develop connectivity, which is a key factor for economic growth, especially in the context of slowing down growth in European Union countries, including the Three Sea Region countries. In order to achieve sustainable growth, more and more investment should be directed towards improving productivity and skills, as well as digitalisation.”
In total 12 countries are included in the initiative, including several which are land-locked such as Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The total list is: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.
German President Frank Walter Steinmeier attended, even though Germany isn't a member. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and others were also sprinkled around the summit.
The Three Seas Initiative describes itself as "a flexible political platform at Presidential level, launched in 2015." This is the fourth summit, the three previous ones having been held in Dubrovnik (2016), Warsaw (2017) and Bucharest (2018).
