Central Europe’s Visegrad Four (V4) group has so far managed to survive despite tensions and disagreements over key issues such as Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala invited the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to the Visegrad Group Summit in Prague on Tuesday, February 27th. The summit was held amidst doubts about the future of the Visegrad region.
The group was established in 1991 as a regional platform to coordinate a common path towards the European Union. “Toxic” brands During the immigration crisis around 2015.
The four countries in the region categorically rejected European solutions to the migration crisis, known in particular for the simplification of “migrant quotas”, but did not actively offer alternative solutions.
The image of the Visegrad Group was not improved by the actions of the former Polish and current Hungarian governments, which undermined the rule of law in their respective countries.
Opinion is currently split evenly, with the Czech Republic and Poland as ardent supporters of Ukraine, while Hungary and Slovakia take a more pro-Russian stance.
A few days before the summit, Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico gave a pro-Russian speech in which he said Russian President Vladimir Putin was being “wrongly demonized”.
Protesters outside the Czech summit venue held placards that read “Fico, go home to Russia” and “welcomed” Fico, as well as Hungarian Viktor Viktor. He extended a similar welcome to Mr. Orbán.
“We do not hide the fact that there are differences between us (…) V4 is a slightly different organization than it was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Fiala said.
“Today’s meeting showed that it is meaningful to have discussions, even difficult ones, and that it is meaningful to listen to each other’s views,” he added.
He said the leaders spoke openly even without their delegations present.
V4 survival
Hungary’s Orbán said, “As the world changes, we must ask ourselves whether we need V4, and if so, in what form.” It was nothing,” he said.
“I admit that I felt like yawning at some V4 meetings because the content was a bit technical. I didn’t even have time to yawn today. It was one of those meetings,” Fico echoed.
Another meeting between Tusk and Fiala ahead of the summit was scheduled to take place on Monday, but was postponed to the following day due to the Paris security summit.
The two sides may “coordinate the Prime Minister’s memo on the strategy on how to proceed towards the Visegrad Group partners.” Poland expert Jan Škwrniak from Charles University in Prague told Euractiv Czechia.
He said Czech Poles tried to persuade Hungary and Slovakia to become more involved in supporting Ukraine.
“It’s not clear whether they were successful or not. They don’t have any additional tools or levers,” Šukvržak added.
According to a statement from the four prime ministers after the summit, they “agreed to differ” on certain issues and made it clear that they had no intention of abandoning the V4 format.
“It is clear that V4 will survive in some form. It is a working platform and there is no need to think that it has great value,” said Pavlina Janebova, research director at the Prague-based Association for International Affairs (AMO). He said,She said the meeting was not groundbreaking.
Fiala said the main demarcation lines remain. “We have different views on the causes of Russian aggression and conflict resolution.”
But there are two things they all agree on: Russia’s aggression is a serious violation of international law and aid to Ukraine must continue.
In the leaders’ declaration, the V4 prime ministers expressed their intention to focus future coordination on common topics such as immigration, energy, agriculture, and EU reform.
[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski, Alice Taylor]
