Middle Corridor: Can Bulgaria be a safe gateway for Asian imports to the EU?

On the morning of October 6, drones hit two commercial ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, sinking one of the ships and causing alarm and outrage in both Bulgaria and the EU . The drone attacks come at a time when the EU is pushing for Bulgaria to become a key entry point for goods imported from Asia to the bloc via the trade route known as the Middle Corridor. The Middle Corridor — which the EU also refers to as the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor — connects Europe and Asia. It begins in China and runs through Kazakhstan , Azerbaijan , Georgia and Turkey before reaching the EU. Although it is mostly made up of railways and roads, short sections of the corridor cross the Black Sea and Caspian Sea .