The Vertical Gas Corridor is moving beyond its original Southeast European footprint as transmission system operators from Serbia and North Macedonia prepare to join the initiative, extending a gas route designed to connect Greek import infrastructure with Central Europe and the Western Balkans.
Representatives of Transportgas Srbija and North Macedonia’s NOMAGAS took part in the corridor’s latest coordination meeting in Athens for the first time. Their participation points towards a formal enlargement of a network that already brings together Greece’s DESFA, Gastrade and ICGB, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz, Romania’s Transgaz, Moldova’s Vestmoldtransgaz, Hungary’s FGSZ, Slovakia’s EUSTREAM, and Ukraine’s GTSOU.
The operators agreed to revise the initiative’s memorandum of understanding so that Serbia and North Macedonia can be incorporated into its governance and technical planning. A joint technical and commercial working group will assess cross-border capacity, long-term demand, tariff structures and the investment required to make the route commercially sustainable.
That commercial work is becoming as important as the construction of physical infrastructure. The corridor’s strategic case rests on moving gas northwards from LNG terminals in Greece, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and other non-Russian supply routes. Yet pipelines alone do not ensure competitive flows. Shippers must also contend with accumulated entry and exit tariffs as gas passes through several national systems.
Tariff optimisation and coordinated capacity allocation will therefore determine whether the corridor functions as a regularly used market route or remains primarily an energy-security option. Serbia’s participation could improve the economics by adding a sizeable national market and connecting the corridor with storage capacity at Banatski Dvor and future Serbian interconnectors.
North Macedonia provides another potential link between Greek infrastructure and the Western Balkans. Its inclusion could support diversification away from a system historically dependent on a single supply direction through Bulgaria.
The enlarged corridor would connect Southeast Europe, Central Europe and the Western Balkans through a broader network of LNG terminals, interconnectors and national transmission systems. For Serbia, this creates the prospect of access to additional Greek and Caspian gas, while strengthening its position as a transit and storage market rather than solely a final importer.
The initiative still requires coordinated investment decisions and binding commercial demand. Its next phase will be shaped by whether regional utilities and industrial buyers are prepared to reserve long-term capacity at tariffs competitive with established supply routes.
