The article examines the eastern vertical gas corridor in Southeast Europe, which is often promoted as an independent solution but is actually a component of a wider trans-Balkan system. It highlights that the true costs associated with this corridor remain unofficial, and that its isolated approach—without integration to projects like TAP and Neptun Deep—creates technical and regulatory incompatibilities that hinder its strategic importance. Furthermore, data and prior market failures illustrate the range of expenses, structural obstacles, and conditions necessary for the corridor to take on a genuinely strategic role.

Currently, Europe is experiencing a clash between economic logic and geopolitical realities, especially evident in the tension between LNG and pipeline supplies. This situation directly impacts costs and supply stability within the region. The strategic choices made now could have lasting implications for energy policy and regional cooperation, as countries navigate between these two supply methods while considering their economic and political relationships.

In this fraught energy context, the port city of Alexandroupoli presents potential as a key energy hub, though its success relies on addressing existing barriers and leveraging opportunities from both pipeline and LNG infrastructures. The future of energy supply in the Balkans will depend on collaborative approaches that ensure compatibility and integration with broader European energy strategies.