As Hungary, Slovakia, and a new Czech government align, the Polish president seeks to pull Poland back into a stronger V4. Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s state visit to Prague on Monday, November 24th, has injected new momentum into efforts to rebuild Central Europe’s once-influential Visegrád Group (V4), as political shifts in the region open a potential path to renewed cooperation. The visit to Czechia formed the second leg of an intensive diplomatic tour across the V4 countries. Nawrocki had travelled to Slovakia in early November, and will conclude the circuit in Hungary on December 3rd where he will meet the other V4 heads of state.
As Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico recently said, “the V4 should return to where it once was. I think it’s no secret that the V4 was one of the most important forms of regional cooperation—a format that was capable of influencing European Council decisions.” Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has similarly argued that a sovereignty-focused Central European bloc is essential to resisting EU overreach on issues such as migration quotas. The V4 countries have all a shared interest in stopping the EU’s centralisation efforts—for example, they are preparing to build a joint alliance against the migration pact. The upcoming V4 summit of the V4 heads of state to be held in Esztergom, Hungary could therefore mark the first step toward a revitalised alliance.
