Challenges for the Implementation of the Pan-European Corridor No. 8

Stanev Stanislav () and Penchev Petar ()
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Stanev Stanislav: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Penchev Petar: University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev“, Ruse, Bulgaria

Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 2025, vol. 19, issue 1, 1798-1807

Abstract: Pan-European Corridor No. 8 is a transport vector that starts in Italy and connects the Adriatic with the Black Sea, passing through the state territories of Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Its implementation will promote connectivity and give impetus to the economic development of the entire region. At present, there are serious challenges to this project. On the one hand, they are related to the lack of highways and railways, and on the other hand, to internal political obstacles in one of the countries through which it must pass. The Republic of North Macedonia has declared its desire to build this project, but its economy is not able to make the necessary effort for its implementation. This is the main motive in the statements of official Skopje that Corridor No. 8 is not a priority for them and they would like to direct efforts to improving the other Corridor passing through their territory - No. 10. Since Corridor No. 8 is a priority project for the European Union, the Republic of North Macedonia has the opportunity to use pre-accession instruments. The scientific literature is very scarce on the topic. There are no known scientific sources to the authors which analyze what could be the real cause of the postponement of the construction – a question which the paper attempts to answer. The study is based on desk and field research. The research includes an analysis of the relevant documents, media reports, academic publications and statistical data on the progress of infrastructure projects. These issues raise the need for an analysis of the reasons for Skopje’s skepticism for implementation of the Pan-European Corridor No. 8. The results of the study show that the implementation of Pan-European Corridor No. 8 is hampered by both infrastructural and geopolitical factors, with North Macedonia effectively prioritizing the development of Corridor No. 10 at the expense of Corridor No. 8. The main contribution of the study is in identifying the institutional and political obstacles to the development of this strategic transport route, as well as in providing a reasoned assessment of its impact on regional connectivity and European integration.

Keywords: corridor 8; corridor 10; Macedonia; Albania; Bulgaria; connectivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:poicbe:v:19:y:2025:i:1:p:1798-1807:n:1016

DOI: 10.2478/picbe-2025-0139

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