The European Commission has launched the Connectivity Agenda Platform and concluded agreements with international financial institutions expected to mobilise up to €2 billion for strategic connectivity investments in the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus, according to a press release from the European External Action Service (EEAS) dated 23 June 2026. The Platform was unveiled at a high-level ministerial meeting hosted by Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela, and Commissioner for Sustainable Transport Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The meeting brought together ministers of transport and senior representatives from EU Member States, Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, alongside representatives of the G7 and international financial institutions, to advance the Cross-regional Connectivity Agenda under the Global Gateway strategy.
The Connectivity Agenda Platform will provide a framework for participating countries, international financial institutions and other stakeholders to coordinate investments and policy action across transport, energy, digital connectivity and trade sectors. Participants also agreed to strengthen the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor's operational performance and invited the Commission to assess the corridor's functioning and propose priority actions to improve its competitiveness. The Commission has concluded statements of intent with international financial institutions expected to mobilise up to €2 billion for investments in transport infrastructure, border crossing points and trade facilitation across the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus, aiming to improve cross-border connections and facilitate trade along the corridor.
The Cross-regional Connectivity Agenda was first presented at the Cross-regional Security and Connectivity Ministerial Meeting in Luxembourg in October 2025, as part of the EU's Global Gateway strategy. It aims to strengthen transport, energy and digital links between the European Union and Central Asia through the South Caucasus and the Black Sea region by coordinating strategic investments and regulatory cooperation. At the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor and Connectivity Investors Forum in Tashkent in November 2025, participants highlighted the corridor's growing strategic importance as a resilient and efficient route between Europe and Central Asia.
The launch of the Platform and the mobilisation of up to €2 billion represent a concrete step in implementing the Connectivity Agenda, with potential benefits for EU producers and exporters seeking shorter and more reliable trade routes to Central Asia, as well as for Central Asian economies gaining better access to European markets. The investments are expected to improve transport infrastructure and border crossing efficiency, reducing transit times and costs. However, the success of the initiative will depend on the effective coordination among multiple countries and financial institutions, and on the timely implementation of priority actions to address bottlenecks along the Trans-Caspian Corridor. The Commission's assessment of the corridor's functioning, requested by the participants, will be a key next step in identifying specific measures to enhance competitiveness.