The Craiova Group (Quadrilateral), Craiova Four, or C4 is a cooperation project of four European statesRomania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbiafor the purposes of furthering their European integration as well as economic, transport and energy cooperation with one another. The Group originated in a summit meeting of the heads of governments of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, held on 24 April 2015 in the Romanian city of Craiova. At the group's inaugural meeting, Romania's then-Prime Minister Victor Ponta indicated that he was inspired by the Visegrád Group. Romania and Bulgaria both joined the European Union in 2007, while Serbia has been in accession negotiations since 2014. Since 2017 meeting in Varna, Bulgaria and the inclusion of Greece, meetings have been quadrilateral.

One of the first initiatives, after a meeting in Vidin, Bulgaria, was to strengthen the telecommunication networks in the border areas of the countries. Other goals include helping Serbia join the European Union and the construction of a motorway linking Bucharest, Sofia and Belgrade.

On 2 November 2018, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov stated that Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras proposed joint bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup by Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece during the meeting in Thessaloniki.

Since the 2020s, however, the cooperation between the Craiova Group has stalled.

Current leaders

Country comparison Name Romania Bulgaria Greece Serbia Official name Romania () Republic of Bulgaria () Hellenic Republic () Republic of Serbia () Coat of Arms Flag Population 19,043,151 (2026) 6,423,207 (2026) 10,366,586 (2026) 6,532,019 (2026) Area 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi) 110,993.6 km2 (42,854.9 sq mi) 131,957 km2 (50,949 sq mi) 77,747 km2(29,913 sq mi)(excluding Kosovo) Population Density 79.9/km2 (206.8/sq mi) 57.8/km2 (149.8/sq mi) 78.5/km2 (203.5/sq mi) 84.0/km2 (218.3/sq mi) Government Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic Capital Bucharest – 1,716,961 (2,304,408 metro) Sofia – 1,248,452 (1,667,314 metro) Athens – 643,452 (3,638,281 metro) Belgrade – 1,383,875 (1,681,405 metro) Largest City Official language Romanian Bulgarian Greek SerbianFirst Leader Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Domnitor of the United Principalities (first ruler of the modern unified state). Burebista, King of Dacia (first leader of the Romanian peoples). Khan Asparuh of Bulgaria (founder of the First Bulgarian Empire) Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias (first head of state of the modern independent state) Prince Višeslav of Serbia (first ruler known by name) Current Head of Government Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan (PNL) Prime Minister Rumen Radev (Progressive Bulgaria) Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (New Democracy) Prime Minister Đuro Macut (Independent)Current Head of StatePresident Nicușor Dan (Independent)President Iliana Iotova (BSP)President Konstantinos Tasoulas (New Democracy)President Aleksandar Vučić (SNS) Main religions 81% Eastern Orthodox, 6.2% Protestant, 5.1% Latin and Greek Catholic, 0.2% irreligious, 1.5% Other religious 59.5% Eastern Orthodox, 9.3% irreligious, 7.9% Islam, 0.9% Protestant, 0.7% Roman Catholic 90% Eastern Orthodox, 3% Other Christians (excluding Catholic), 4% irreligious, 2% Islam, 3% Other religious (including Eastern or Western Catholic) 81.1% Eastern Orthodox, 4.2% Islam, 3.9% Roman Catholic, 1.1% irreligious, 1% Protestant Ethnic groups 88.9% Romanians, 6.1% Hungarians, 3.3% Roma, 0.2% Ukrainians, 0.2% Germans 84.8% Bulgarians, 8.8% Turks, 4.9% Roma, 0.7% others Greek 91.6%, Albanian 4.4%, other 4% 80.6% Serbs, 2.8% Hungarians, 2.3% Bosniaks, 2% Roma, 12.3% others GDP (nominal) GDP (PPP) External debt 36.8 % of GDP 20.4 % of GDP 178.2 % of GDP 48.2 % of GDP Currency Leu (L) – RON Euro (€) – EUR Euro (€) – EUR Dinar (din) – RSD Human Development Index

See also Accession of Serbia to the European Union Bulgaria–Greece–Romania–Serbia UEFA Euro 2028 and 2030 FIFA World Cup bid Frugal Four Inner Six Nordic Defence Cooperation

Other groups in Southeastern Europe Bucharest Nine Central European Defence Cooperation Central European Initiative Salzburg Forum Three Seas Initiative

Similar groups Association Trio Commonwealth of Independent States Visegrád Group EU Med Group Lublin Triangle Nordic Defence Cooperation Nordic-Baltic Eight Weimar Triangle Open Balkan

Other Comecon Eastern Bloc Group of Nine Pact of Free Cities Soviet Union Warsaw Pact Intermarium (region)

References

External links