The European Commission as a Strategic Partner of the Three Seas Initiative. Research Challenges

Abstract

The author examines the relationship between the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) and its strategic partner – the European Commission (EC), highlighting research gaps in this area. A key issue is the lack of a definition of the EC’s strategic partnership. The author raises the question of whether the EC’s strategic partnership differs from the European Union’s strategic partnership and, if so, in what way. In declarations adopted during 3SI summits, the EC has repeatedly been referred to as a “strategic partner of 3SI”: first in the Riga summit declaration in 2022, followed by declarations from the summits in Bucharest (2023), Vilnius (2024), and Warsaw (2025). EC representatives participated in 3SI summits at various levels. Despite this, 3SI remains little known among EU institution staff, and the fact that the EC is a strategic partner of 3SI is recognised only by a narrow group of experts. On the one hand, the lack of references to 3SI on official EU websites and its low visibility within European institutions is striking. On the other hand, EC representatives have repeatedly expressed support for this cooperation format. The author emphasises the need for further research on the EC’s status as a strategic partner of 3SI, the mechanisms of cooperation between 3SI and the EC, and its outcomes.