Differing views are apparent between the seven countries invited to join Ukraine in its new regional platform designed to promote trade and security cooperation.
At a summit in Ukraine designed to promote trade and security cooperation between eight countries located in the Carpathian region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday launched a new regional grouping, the Carpathian 8, that he hopes will “bring our countries even closer together and create another strong framework for cooperation at the EU level”.
Yet just a few days after the summit held in the western Ukrainian ski resort of Bukovel, two attendees at the summit – Hungary and the Czech Republic – either denied having signed up to the format or appeared lukewarm at best. The other attendees at the summit were, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Hungary’s reaction must be the most disappointing
Hungary’s reaction must be the most disappointing to Zelensky, who has been hoping for a complete reset in relations between the two neighbours after Viktor Orban and his pro-Russian government were defeated in the April election and replaced by the more pragmatic, pro-EU Peter Magyar.
Hungary was represented at the three-day summit not by Magyar, but by the chargé d’affaires of the Hungarian embassy in Kyiv, which lacks an ambassador at the moment.
Yet reports emerging over the weekend were unclear about Hungary’s participation in the new format and, on Monday, the prime minister denied in parliament that Hungary had joined the initiative after being asked about it by the far-right Mi Hazank party.
In another sign of continuing tensions between
In another sign of continuing tensions between the two nations, Magyar pushed back against a memorandum of understanding reportedly signed on Sunday at the C8 summit between Hungarian oil company MOL Group and its Ukrainian partner Naftogaz to store fuel for Ukraine in eastern Hungary. Magyar stated that MOL, in which the state holds a controlling 25 per cent stake, has to coordinate such plans with the government.
Magyar also told parliament that the Czech Republic has likewise chosen not to join the C8 format. The Czech government – whose support for Ukraine could at best be described as lukewarm and irregular – has not explicitly said as much. But, like Hungary, the Czech side was not represented by Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Nor was Slovakia, whose prime minister, Robert Fico, begged off ill.
In fact, the Czech Republic’s three-party governing coalition failed to even send an official government representative to the summit, instead choosing Deputy Speaker of the Senate Jiri Drahos – a former presidential hopeful and opposition politician.
Ait was another wasted opportunity to talk
Ait was another wasted opportunity to talk in person about important security and business issues.”
For Petr Cermak, a research fellow at the Prague-based Association for International Affairs (AMO), the reticence on the part of the Czech government came as little surprise. “It reflects the overall government’s reserved position and complex dynamics within the coalition on this matter [of Ukraine] – SPD playing an openly anti-Ukrainian card, Motorists maintaining a supportive line, and ANO being pragmatic and balancing the two and avoiding public communication on the issue,” he told BIRN.
“As [the C8] is presented as a Ukrainian initiative, I suppose the government did not want to be directly connected with it domestically, which might also explain why Czechia was represented by a Senate deputy president from the opposition party,” he said.
More amenable partners
Poland, on the other hand, as Ukraine’s strongest
Poland, on the other hand, as Ukraine’s strongest ally in the region, was represented by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and showed the clearest interest in the C8 format.
For Poland, the appeal of the C8 appears to lie in the overlap between security and cross-border infrastructure. Projects presented at the summit included a 216-million-dollar industrial park and multimodal terminal on the Polish–Ukrainian border, designed to handle up to more than 2 million tonnes of cargo annually, as well as a 441-million-dollar plan by Ukrainian Railways to establish a low-cost passenger operator using European-gauge trains, with connections from Uzhhorod, Lviv and Kovel to EU cities including Warsaw.
Together with cooperation on missile defence and the longer-term reconstruction of Ukraine, these plans give Warsaw several concrete reasons to remain involved, say experts.
The summit also gave Warsaw and Kyiv
The summit also gave Warsaw and Kyiv an opportunity to inject new momentum into relations that have been strained in recent months. Tusk said he had come to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine and discuss bilateral cooperation, including Poland’s participation in the European anti-ballistic missile initiative. After talks with Zelensky, the two leaders confirmed that Poland would join the coalition, and Tusk said Poland’s absence from the initiative when it was launched in Paris in July had been the result of “a certain misunderstanding”.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic – who will be the prime ministerial candidate for the ruling coalition in the snap election to be held on October 25 – made an appearance in person, which analysts say is in keeping with the strategy he has been following over the last few months that including a bilateral meeting with Zelensky in Belgrade and a multilateral forum in Kyiv.
“I assume it has something to do with the elections approaching in Serbia, as Vucic now needs to show his more pro-Western face to keep support coming from the EU. He will not communicate it much at home, but will use his presence vocally when talking to EU counterparts,” AMO’s Cermak told BIRN.
Indeed, Vucic suggested as much during the summit,
Indeed, Vucic suggested as much during the summit, when he presented the initiative as his personal commitment to Serbia: “I am doing all of this to further ensure stability and peace for our citizens and for Serbia.”
Vucic said that Serbia has traditionally relied on the countries of the former Yugoslahat expanding and strengthening our relations within the broader Carpathian region will mean a great deal for Serbia.”
Vucic also noted how 50 per cent of Serbian exports now go to Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic, while trade between Serbia and Ukraine has increased by 42 per cent (though he did not specify the period to which this increase referred). The Serbian Chamber of Commerce told the weekly Vreme in August that Serbian exports to Ukraine increased by 92.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, largely due to electricity exports.
Romania was represented by President Nicusor Dan
Romania was represented by President Nicusor Dan at the summit, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine aimed at improving connectivity between the two countries by opening 10 new border crossing points and also upgrading infrastructure.
Dan also said that protecting the rights of national minorities could be one of the priorities of the C8 initiative. “This format can make use of the linguistic and cultural wealth of the region, making the protection of the rights of national minorities a priority,” Dan said in his speech at the summit.
According to Dan, the C8 could also become an additional tool for the European integration of EU candidate countries.
Source: balkaninsight.com
