Closer Cooperation Is the Silver Bullet to Visegrad’s Ongoing Dysfunction

As the Visegrad Group – Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary – on the one hand celebrates three decades of its existence, and on the other faces mounting economic and political challenges, partly propelled by Russia’s war on Ukraine, it is useful to take stock of its past and future.

Contrary to the not uncommon perception in the West, Europe’s East does not share a common vision of its future. Even the time-honoured political club — the Visegrad Group — has been ridden by fundamental divisions, ever since it completed its EU and NATO accession processes. 

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To be fair, the Visegrad format delivered on its post-transition promise of regional integration, as exemplified by the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) in the early 90s, as well as the pledge to provide mutual support in the NATO and EU integration processes later. But the initial shared goals were realised by 2004, and its post-2004 raison d’etre– to project more influence in European policy debates — went largely unfulfilled.