Source: European Parliament
The EU is committed to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as an ambitious project of major geopolitical and economic relevance.
To this end, the Commission plans to intensify contacts with all relevant stakeholders, including the co-signatories of the memorandum of understanding signed in 2023 as well as other interested countries, Member States, and financial institutions to discuss implementation of the different segments of the corridor.
The EU is also looking at supporting IMEC through EU initiatives, such as Trans-Mediterranean Energy and Clean Tech Cooperation Initiative , and via its transport and digital connectivity programmes under the Global Gateway strategy; as well as exploring possible contributions in the form of technical assistance for feasibility studies and soft connectivity elements; and trilateral cooperation efforts to leverage private and public investments for the relevant infrastructure.
It is not foreseen that the transport-related components of the corridor would pass through the Red Sea. Rather, a railroad is envisaged to connect the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean through the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.
Should any other connectivity-elements of IMEC (such as cables) need to pass through the Red Sea, the security implications would be assessed thoroughly before deploying any concrete projects.
Türkiye and Iran are not currently part of IMEC. As for any project of this kind, the Commission will assess and address scrupulously any potential risk to the EU’s economic, security or other interests, including strategic dependencies on any third country.