Conclusions of the latest B9 Summit

Leaders of NATO countries from the eastern flank and of the Nordic countries who convened in Vilnius, Lithuania on Monday have reiterated the political, economic and military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia

Daniela Budu, 03.06.2025, 14:00

Leaders of NATO countries from the eastern flank and of the Nordic countries who convened in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Monday have reiterated the political, economic and military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Participants announced their intention to reach at least 5% of the GDP for defence and investment in the field in order to be able to live up to the present challenges.

These are representatives of the countries in the Bucharest 9 group, namely Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poaland, Romania and Slovakia plus those of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland.

Also attending the Vilnius Summit, NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, said that the commitment to joint defence is a strong one, because, as he said, we are facing the most dangerous security environment in the past decades. “We are neither in a state of war nor a state of peace,” Rutte said at the end of the aforementioned summit. The NATO official has rejected any hint at the US’ alleged reviewing of its military presence in Europe, saying that on the contrary, Washington is going to maintain a ‘very strong conventional military presence’ in Europe

At the same time, the participants in the Vilnius Summit have reiterated their support for the Republic of Moldova and have announced the following B9 Summit will be hosted by Romania, next year. Present in Vilnius, in his first visit abroad as President of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, said that Romania is concerned about security in the Black Sea and of the neigbouring Republic of Moldova and he hailed the participants’ agreement to carry on their support for Ukraine. Romania will continue to support Ukraine because it is about our own security, president Dan has also said.

On the sidelines of the Vilnius summit, President Dan held bilateral talks with several high officials including NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was also attending the meeting and who thanked him for the assurance that ‘Ukraine can count on Romania’s continuous support’.

In another development, referring to the talks in Lithuania focusing on the preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in the Hague, the Romanian President says that a major stake will be the commitment of member states to raising their military expenses to 3.5% of the GDP plus 1.5% for additional expenses. Nicuşor Dan has said these expenses will have to rise and he also underlined the importance of the US presence in NATO’s eastern flank.

The Romanian President Nicusor Dan said quote: “The US presence in NATO’s eastern flank is extremely important for us all. We must strengthen the trans-Atlantic ties and from this point of view, our commitment to allotting 3.5% plus 1.5% of the GDP for defence is very important. And I hope we are making this decision in the Hague.“

We recall that the B9 format was set up by Romania and Poland back in 2015 after the Russian annexation of Crimea so that the countries in NATO’s eastern flank may hold talks and cooperate in the field of security.

(bill)