[REVISION HISTORY]

North Macedonia Corridor 8 rail funding secured

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-06 10:16 UTC → 2026-08-07 12:48 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026 opposition parties said the government missed the deadline for a €60.77 million EU grant intended for the third section of the Corridor 8 railway to Bulgaria. The government confirmed the lapse and said it would rely on existing European loans while continuing talks on a cross‑border tunnel. In April 2026 Macedonia signed financing agreements that ~~unlock~~ unlocked a €149 million EU grant from the Western Balkans Investment Framework, together with €175 million loans each from the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The funds will finance the same third section, linking the Kriva Palanka border crossing with Deve Bair in Bulgaria and include construction of the tunnel. A tender is expected later in 2026, with works slated to begin in ~~autumn. A~~ autumn, and a second intergovernmental meeting is ~~planned, after which Macedonia and Bulgaria will send a joint letter to~~ planned before the ~~EU, EIB and EBRD requesting~~ end of August to request additional funding for the tunnel. ~~The new~~ On 6 August 2026 the Macedonian government formally signed the financing ~~replaces~~ agreements, attended by Prime Minister Christian Mikovski, Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski, Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska‑Kochoska, EU delegation deputy head Ben Nupnau and EBRD director Fatih Turkmenoglu. The signing confirmed the ~~earlier missed~~ €149 million EU grant and ~~revives~~ the ~~Corridor 8 project.~~ €175 million loans, reaffirming the timetable for the cross‑border tunnel and the autumn start of construction.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.