Regional Cooperation in Central Europe after Russia's Aggression against Ukraine

The 2022 Russian full-scale aggression against Ukraine affected the dynamics of regional political cooperation among Central European states, as it highlighted the inconsistencies between them on core eastern and security issues. The divergences were compounded by the war’s indisputable accentuation of Hungary’s pro-Russian policy, hostile towards Ukraine, which was in significant contrast to the approach of its regional partners. Indeed, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia were in the global vanguard of supporting Ukraine and isolating Russia from the start of the war, and they initiated European Union policy in these areas.

The result of these differences has been changes in regional political cooperation in Central Europe. The most visible of them is the significant reduction in cooperation in the Visegrad Group. At the same time, the importance of the Bucharest Nine and the “3+1” format (Baltic States and Poland) has increased, as these platforms respond to the need to strengthen the coordination of security policies of the states in the region.

This PISM report explores the attempts to redefine regional political cooperation in many Central European states. While signalling the prospects for common actions, the report also aims to contribute to the debate on the directions of the future development of this cooperation.