At the event earlier this spring, Hungary’s former Ambassador to Washington Réka Szemerkényi, a senior advisor for foreign and security policy to the Equilibrium Institute, quizzed Brzezinski, a member of the strategic advisory group of the U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council, about the Three Seas Initiative.
The foreign policy and military expert said that although the Central and Eastern European region has seen many examples of successful framework cooperation agreements of varying degrees of success over the past decades, 3SI stands out. Its potential lies in enabling long-term economic, energy security, infrastructure and even military mobility developments by exploiting local geo-economic potential.
Mirroring a complaint that used to be made about military spending levels among NATO allies, Brzezinski said many of the countries participating in the 3SI have not yet made a financial contribution to its investment fund, which seeks to mobilize private capital on a free market basis.
Brzezinski said that the region’s geo-economic position, with a total GDP of more than USD 2 trillion, high FDI rates of return and its future growth potential, make it attractive to private capital.
While some worry this year’s U.S. presidential election will have a decisive factor for the future of 3SI, Brzezinski pointed out that American support for the initiative has been there since the Obama years, regardless of party affiliation. Instead, the most critical factor influencing the continuation of support will be the performance of 3SI itself in the near future. If the initiative can continue to grow, using the capital it receives for cross-border infrastructure development, continued support can be guaranteed, the expert argues.
Responding to questions from the audience, Brzezinski also discussed the geopolitical challenges facing CEE, the Russo-Ukrainian war, Asian conflicts and the impact of the Indo-Pacific region on Europe. He stressed that although Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden had all attributed greater strategic importance to Asia, Euro-Atlantic cooperation is a lasting, mutually beneficial alliance. Consequently, Central and Eastern Europe need not fear being left alone.
According to the Three Seas Initiative website (3seas.eu), it is a politically inspired, commercially driven platform for improving connectivity for 12 EU Member States found between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas. Founded in 2015, the 3SI was born from a shared interest in developing transport, energy and digital infrastructure connections on the EU’s north-south axis. Those connections must be trusted, sustainable and inclusive so that they strengthen EU cohesion and enrich transatlantic links. “3SI aims to scale up the region’s excellence EU-wide and globally. 3SI partners, the United States, Germany, and the European Commission, are closely involved in this process,” the website says. To improve connectivity and accelerate investments in infrastructure projects, the 3SI Investment Fund was set up in 2019.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of June 28, 2024.
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