The Visegrad Group as an instrument of regional and european policy of Central European States

The Visegrad Group, also called the Visegrad Four, or V4, is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European states, i.e. the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The reasons for establishing close cooperation as part of a regional union included: geographical proximity, similar historical backgrounds and compatible foreign policy goals. In the early 1990s, joining the European Union and NATO were considered top priorities. Initially, the political and economic initiative was launched by three countries: Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. Since the 1993 division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the group has consisted of four countries. The name of the organisation refers to the place of meeting of presidents of Poland and Czechoslovakia and the prime minister of Hungary – a castle in Visegrad, located north of Budapest. The event took place on 15th February 1991. In October of the same year, at a summit of prime ministers in Krakow, it was agreed that the cooperation would cover areas such as foreign policy, economy, transport, environmental protection and science. After the success of the Visegrad Four’s members in integrating with the European Union and NATO, the group set new directions for itself. Cooperation with the closest neighbours, i.e. Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Austria, was extended. Contacts were also established with institutions of Western European states, including the Benelux and the Nordic Council states. However, it seems that the most important goal of Visegrad Group today is to have a more significant and consistent influence on the policy of the European Union. In particular, this includes opposing authoritarian inclinations of the German and French politicians to force their points of view on others. Successes in this respect have made V4 a permanent and important driver of European policy and an effective instrument of regional policy of Central European states.