President Pahor attends economic forum within the Three Seas Initiative in Sofia, pointing out the importance of the Initiative Investment Fund

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, is attending the Three Seas Initiative summit in Bulgaria today and tomorrow.



Today, President Pahor attended the opening of the Economic Forum of the Three Seas Initiative and participated in the Presidents’ Panel entitled: “Three Seas Initiative: A path to smart development and comprehensive economic growth”.

In his speech, President Pahor emphasised the importance of the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund, which was established two years ago when the initiative summit was organised by Slovenia. Now the fund is fully operational with a Slovenian investment of 23 million euros. President Pahor called for the securing of funding for the launch and implementation of projects and said that the positive effects of the fund could boost infrastructure and other projects in the region, which would in turn have a positive impact on the rest of the EU and its immediate neighbourhood.


Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA

Below is the text of the address by President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor (Check against delivery!)

Dear President Radev,

Excellencies, distinguished guests;

It is a pleasure to participate at the Business Forum of the Three Sees Initiative.

I strongly support proactive approach of the 3SI in organizing economic forum in parallel to presidential summits.

The main task of the Three Seas Initiative and its Business Forum is to bridge the investment gap in infrastructure.

The scale of investments needed is clear. What remains for us is to provide the financing package.

The Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund, to which my Government has decided to contribute 23 mio EUR, is to support a considerable number of investment projects.

There are two tasks ahead of us: we need to provide further financial means for delivering the projects, and we need to address some legal issues.

Apart of the Member States participating in the Initiative, It is necessary to attract institutional and private financial investors into the Fund, and demonstrate that the projects are of commercial interest.

We believe legal opinion would be needed concerning some dilemmas about the Fund; among them the nature of the financing (do we speak of potential state aid) and potentially problematic investments in carbon based energy sources. In addition, there is a new EU legislation about Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

These dilemmas need to be addressed swiftly in order for the 3SI Fund to start functioning.

I firmly believe that the positive impacts of the Fund have the potential to spur infrastructure and other projects in the region. This will in turn positively affect the rest of the EU and its immediate neighbourhood.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Business Forum is about building business partnerships and identifying potential investment opportunities. It is also about listening to the voice of the private sector on how to rank priorities.

I wish all the participants a successful work. Thank you.


Photo: Daniel Novakovič/STA