Eastern Nato allies discuss barring Hungary from their club

Good morning. Negotiations between centrist EU political parties began yesterday over a potential coalition to back a second term for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Today, I reveal discussions among Nato’s eastern flank countries about booting Hungary from their club, and my Brussels colleague profiles some of the more colourful members from the new European parliament intake.

How will the elections change the EU? Join me and colleagues in Paris, Rome and elsewhere for a subscriber-exclusive webinar tomorrow and put your questions to our panel. Register for your subscriber pass now.

B8?

Diplomats from the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of eastern European Nato and EU allies have discussed the possibility of excluding Hungary from future meetings of the geographical defence club, according to people familiar with the talks.

Context: Founded in 2015, the group includes Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia; all former members of the Soviet Union or Warsaw Pact and now Nato and EU states. Their leaders, foreign ministers and defence ministers regularly gather to co-ordinate their approach to security policies, particularly related to defending their eastern borders.

At recent meetings Hungary has vetoed joint conclusions by the group related to increased aid to Ukraine, and endorsements of any moves by Nato to beef up military support to the country or to expedite its bid to become a member of the alliance.

Hungary’s blocking tactics in the EU regarding aid to Ukraine and Kyiv’s accession talks have also seen many allies run out of patience.

B9 leaders meet in Riga today, and officials say that Hungary is again refusing to endorse a draft statement that the others have agreed.

The discussions on excluding Budapest are “very serious”, said one of the people, adding “we are likely meeting in this format for the last time.”

A second person said that recent meetings had featured “tough” discussions and that it would be difficult to organise future gatherings unless they became more collaborative.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last month said he was seeking to “redefine” the terms of his country’s Nato membership because of his opposition to the alliance’s support to Ukraine in the war.

“Hungary is invited to B9 Summit in Riga on the 11th of June,” said the office of Lithuania’s president. “It is important to keep Hungary in for the unity of Nato and the EU.”

Chart du jour: Casino Royale

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French President Emmanuel Macron has an oft-repeated catchphrase he uses with ministers and advisers: Il faut prendre son risque, you must be willing to take risks. Our Paris bureau chief explains why his snap election means he is going all in against Marine Le Pen.

The unusual suspects

Once every five years, the European parliament throws together a new cohort of some of the continent’s brightest and most promising lawmakers — as well as other, more questionable ones, writes Daria Mosolova.

Context: Five years ago, about 61 per cent of MEPs were newcomers to the European parliament. While it is too early to tell this cohort’s turnover, some notable debuts are already causing a stir. 

Nikos Anadiotis, for example, will represent Greece’s ultraorthodox Niki (Victory) party, having sacrificed his preceding career as fitness instructor and menswear model in order to come to Brussels. He rose to prominence by advocating against same-sex marriage, having said homosexuality was a sin. 

On the other side of the political spectrum, the anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis was elected for Italy’s Green and Left Alliance party. Thanks to her victory, Salis’ newly-gained immunity means she is set to be released from detention in Hungary, where she was facing a potential 20-year sentence on charges of assaulting far-right demonstrators.

Filip Turek is a former motor racer from the Czech Republic, whose Motorists’ for Themselves party is not represented in the country’s national parliament, but gained seats in the European chamber on a campaign against limiting sales of cars with internal combustion engines.

Turek’s election campaign was marred by a photo in which he appeared to be using the Hitler salute. He denied sympathy for the Nazi party. 

Finally, Cyprus will be sending a 24-year-old YouTuber, Fidias Panayiotou, who earlier this year claimed he “knows nothing about politics”. Panayiotou’s channel, which has over 2.6mn subscribers, features online challenges where he attempts to spend 30 days wearing a VR headset, or 24 hours buried alive. 

“I’ve never voted in my life,” Panayiotou said in January. “One night I said to myself that if I . . . never take an interest, the same nerds will always be in power.”

What to watch today

1. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.

2. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg attends a leaders’ meeting of the Bucharest Nine group.

Now read these

• Nein: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected calls for early elections despite disastrous results for the ruling coalition parties in the EU election.

• Long game: The ECB can keep interest rates on hold for as long as necessary, Christine Lagarde has said. 

• Populist, not protectionist: The European parliament’s rightward swing won’t knock trade policy off course, argues Alan Beattie.