Geopolitics

Abstract: The current paper explores the current network infrastructure between the Visegrad Group countries, and the developments in the recent years, as well as problems and issues of connectivity. The paper analyses the corridors of the TEN-T network, including railways, roads, and other types of connectivity along the core European corridors in the V4 countries.

Abstract: The countries of Central Europe are neither from an economic, nor from a military point of view belong to the strong actors of the European Union. However, within the framework of the Visegrad Cooperation, they have been consulting for more than three decades and in some key fields are even shaping their policy with respect to the interest of the others.

Abstract: “The V4 has become a well-known brand ‒ a symbol of a successful initiative for pursuing joint interests and a central element of cooperation in Central Europe.” – stipulated in the 2016 Polish Presidency Program. This current study seeks to outline the evolution of the V4’s image, how it shaped itself from an intellectual idea to a leading but controversial political brand in the CEE region over the 30 years of its history.

Foreign relations and seeking partnerships with external partners have always had a significant role in the operation of the Visegrad Group, however it certainly shifted and evolved after the integration of the V4 countries into the Euro-Atlantic structure. But how Visegrad+, the foreign policy framework of the Visegrad Group can contribute to the V4’s international perception and influence and how it fosters EU integration of other countries may be its main priority

Abstract: On 15 February 1991, the President of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, the President of Poland, Lech Wałęsa and the Prime Minister of Hungary, József Antall signed the Visegrad Declaration which aimed at fostering regional cooperation between the parties involved. The three Central European countries recognized the similarity of their situation from an economic, geopolitical and military point of view also believing that together they could assert their interests more effectively in the new world order.

A decade after the establishment of the Visegrad Group, its leaders felt it was time for creating a hub for Central European cooperation among the civil societies of their nations, extending the initially just political purpose of their constellation to cover nearly every area of public life. Thus, the International Visegrad Fund was created to promote cultural cooperation across the borders, and bring the fundamentally similar communities of Central Europe closer to each other. The IVF, demonstrating its effectiveness early on, has been growing ever since and has become the most prominent CE-based monetary fund, building regional cohesion in East Central Europe and beyond.

Abstract: The Visegrad Group's efficiency is ensured by its ability to respond to the constantly changing international political and economic environment, in line with the interests of the Member States. The current study highlights those foreign and economic policy areas where the V4 has a jointly articulated position and aims to assert its interests as a group.

The countries of the Visegrad Group altogether have the 5th largest economy in Europe, and the 12th largest in the world, and experts are beginning to call the region the new economic motor of the European Union. With their third largest population in the EU after Germany and France, the V4 has a great potential to grow. After the unfortunate historic split of Europe in the 16th century, after which Western Europe advanced on the way to prosperity and industrialization, and Central and Eastern Europe to economic stagnation, we may see a chance to bring the two parts of Europe together again.

In the first half of its history, the Visegrad Countries’ cooperation focused on accession into Euro-Atlantic structures. An objection to the original proposed strategic goals resulted resettling the key areas of the V4 cooperation, as the new Declaration stipulates: developing cooperation within the V4 and the EU, toward the NATO and other integrational organizations and partners. By accessing to the Schengen zone, the V4 achieved advanced integration within the EU, parallelly, by launching the International Visegrad Fund, the V4 aspired to strengthening ties within the area.