Hungary at risk: potential exclusion from key NATO group – UPDATE: Romanian president

Could Hungary be in trouble within NATO? The Bucharest Nine plans to exclude Hungary from its members as it is not cooperative enough.

As Financial Times reports, diplomats from the Bucharest Nine (B9) group, comprising Eastern European NATO and EU member states, are contemplating the exclusion of Hungary from future meetings, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Bucharest Nine (B9)

The Bucharest Nine (B9) in 2023. Photo: MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd

The B9, established in 2015, includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. These countries, once part of the Soviet Union or the Warsaw Pact, now coordinate security policies as NATO and EU members, particularly focusing on their eastern borders, Privátbankár writes.

Recently, Hungary has blocked the group’s joint statements supporting increased aid to Ukraine and NATO’s measures to enhance military assistance to Ukraine or expedite its membership process. Hungary’s stance on Ukraine and its accession talks has increasingly frustrated its allies.

The B9 leaders are meeting on 11 June in Riga, and officials anticipate Hungary will once again refuse to endorse a declaration agreed upon by the others.

Talks to exclude Hungary “very serious”

Talks about potentially excluding Hungary are described as “very serious,” with one source noting, “This is likely the last time we meet in this format.” Another source highlighted the “tough” debates in recent meetings, suggesting that future meetings will be challenging to organise unless Hungary becomes more cooperative.

The Financial Times also highlighted that last month, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated Hungary aims to “redefine” its NATO membership terms, opposing the alliance’s support for Ukraine in the ongoing war.

“Hungary has been invited to the B9 summit in Riga on June 11,” the Lithuanian presidential office confirmed, emphasizing that “for the unity of NATO and the EU, it is important for Hungary to remain within the group.”

Reuters: Sulyok did not attend

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Polish President Andrzej Duda (left-right) at the summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Bucharest Nine (B9), a group of NATO member states from Central and Eastern Europe, in Riga, 11 June 2024. Photo: MTI/EPA-PAP/Pawel Supernak

Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency reported that

President Tamás Sulyok would not attend Tuesday’s presidential-level meeting.

Instead, the country will be represented by Hungary’s ambassador to Lithuania, and therefore no joint statement is expected at the end of the event, Index writes.

NATO Secretary General visits Budapest

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is attending the Riga summit, will visit Budapest soon on Wednesday to discuss “Hungary’s omission from the Alliance’s mission in Ukraine”, Viktor Orbán said in an interview with state television on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced on NATO’s website that Stoltenberg will indeed visit Hungary, and a spokesman for the organisation shared the information on X:

#NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg will visit #Hungary on Wednesday 12 June. He will meet with 🇭🇺 @PM_ViktorOrban in Budapest.

🎙️ 10:10 (CEST) Press conference with the Prime Minister of Hungary.https://t.co/99uPeNvJd2 pic.twitter.com/4HXQP9BvHB

— NATO Spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah (@NATOpress) June 11, 2024

As reported, Jens Stoltenberg will hold a joint press conference with Viktor Orbán on Wednesday morning at 10.10.

UPDATE: Romanian president’s reaction (10.45 PM 11 June)

The Romanian head of state has denied that the Bucharest Nine (B9), which brings together the member states of NATO’s eastern wing, are considering excluding Hungary because the Hungarian government allegedly “regularly opposes” the decisions of its partners, Portfolio reports.

Klaus Iohannis, who attended the B9 Heads of State and Government meeting, was interviewed by Romanian journalists in Riga on the above-mentioned topic. “No, there was no question of any exclusion and there will be no question of any exclusion. This is fake news,” the Romanian president said.

“It is not the first time that a state has not been represented by the president, although it would be desirable to have the highest possible level of representation. The two states in question were represented institutionally by ambassadors, so diplomatically there is no problem. As for the conclusions of the summit, they were indeed not agreed by one Member State. But there is an agreed procedure for this, which we also have in the European Union, that when a common language cannot be found, the leaders of the meeting can issue a statement on behalf of those gathered. This is what happened here,” the Romanian president explained.

Iohannis added: “This is not a problem because the B9 is a consultative forum, it does not make decisions.” “We consult each other, we formulate points of view that we believe will improve the functioning of NATO”, the Romanian head of state pointed out.

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