World News

According to a report by the Financial Times (paywalled link), members of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group are considering excluding Hungary from their talks in the future.

The B9 group was founded in 2015 by all NATO and EU member states that were part of the Soviet bloc prior to 1991, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Although the organization does not have a formal institutional structure, it functions as an important forum where members' government officials coordinate their security policy ideas. This has becone increasingly important after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In recent B9 meetings, Hungary has consistently vetoed decisions about supporting Ukraine and speeding up the process of its potential accession to NATO. In addition, the Orbán government has regularly been blocking and obstructing support for Ukraine's war effort in the EU as well. At the B9 meeting in Riga, which started on Tuesday, the Hungarian side again vetoed a draft resolution, which incidentally has the support of the other eight member states.

A source told the FT that discussions within the group have been “tough,” and noted concerns over the feasibility of future meetings if Hungary continues to lack cooperative behaviour. A diplomat speaking to the Financial Times was quoted as saying that “We are likely meeting in this formation for the last time.”

However, no decision has been made public. The Lithuanian president's office told the paper that "it's important to keep Hungary in, for the unity of NATO and the EU".