Formatul „București 9”: dimensiune a cooperării regionale pentru întărirea flancului estic al NATO
The "Bucharest 9" format: an instrument of regional cooperation for strengthening NATO's eastern flank

Summary/Abstract: The aggressive policy pursued by the Russian Federation over the past two decades, which culminated in the invasion of Ukraine, has led states on the Eastern European side to lay the groundwork for regional cooperation, through which to strengthen unity, discouragement and defense. Based on both the common historical past and similar security objectives, Poland and Romania, in the position of strategic pillard of the North Atlantic Alliance, were the initiators of the Bucharest 9 (B9) format, along with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary. The main direction of research is to analyze the steps taken by the nine states engaged in the B9 format to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, from the development of the cooperation format to the present. Thus, the article will initially focus on addressing the strategic documents of each actor in order to identify how the threat posed by Russian state is stated. Subsequently, the measures taken by the B9 member states in terms of military cooperation and investment which are needed to counter a possible destabilization of the regional security climate, will be examined.

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