Mainly due to historical events, the 12 European Union countries located on or between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (also known as the Three Seas countries) – remain surrounded by the emerging, on the east, and developed countries, on the west, thereby becoming an attractive region for investments. Although the Three Seas countries are economically stable, they require substantial investment in infrastructure in order to reach the present level of development within the Western European countries. According to the recent studies, the region requires an investment of EUR 650 billion – most specifically, in the sectors of energy, transport and digital infrastructure. Furthermore, investment in these sectors is particularly important as a result of the war in Ukraine, and the effectiveness of assistance and facilitation of the country’s post-war reconstruction and cross-border cooperation.
Established in 2015, the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) has emerged as an international economic and political initiative with the primary objective to compensate for infrastructural and economic imbalances in the common European market, as well as to strengthen links in Central and Eastern Europe along its north-south axis. 3SI has the potential to create investment opportunities as well as enhance sustainable and secure national and regional connectivity. Additionally, it can make the Three Seas countries more competitive as a whole by the modernization of infrastructure networks and the enhanced energy security and socio-economic development.
The ambitious projects developed under the auspices of the 3SI will demand coordinated, high-quality legal assistance throughout the region. This is one of the primary reasons we have recently created Three Seas Legal Alliance, a group of ten leading independent law firms in the Three Seas countries. Our member law firms, all recognized internationally and experienced in cross-border cooperation, have collaborated with each other on many multi-jurisdictional projects, involving, among others, financing, permitting, procurement, project documentation, real estate, regulatory, state aid and taxation – the foregoing representing all essential service areas in the transport, energy and digital sectors. Together, our member firms provide legal advice in every jurisdiction across the 3SI region. With our size and expertise, we are poised to deliver the expertise and resources needed by all participants in 3SI projects.
On 6 and 7 September 2023, the 8th 3SI Summit and Business Forum was held in Bucharest, Romania, with the main objective to explore innovative approaches addressing emerging economic and geopolitical realities, as well as the mounting investment needs. We are delighted to having the opportunity to introduce our expert team at this event, which attracted high-level participation of government officials and prominent figures from the business community.
* Our member firms cooperate on a case-by-case and non-exclusive basis, thereby enabling the full optimization of their respective legal expertise and client services.
