The V4 on Defence: The Art of Disagreement

Creating an inclusive Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project, which 25 EU member states joined last December, will mean small and mid-size member states playing an important role in the success of PESCO initiatives. Regional cooperation mechanisms can be useful in helping map the direction of some training and modernisation projects in order to streamline intergovernmental processes. Central European countries, who stand to benefit from the modernisation of their armed forces, are therefore an interesting case study in understanding the role that regional cooperation frameworks can play in advancing EU defence ambitions.

Defence issues are a perfect representation of the way the Visegrád Four (V4) works, oscillating between the careful art of disagreement and the reinforcement of common positions – when they exist. At the same time, defence – symbolized by the V4 EU Battlegroup (under Polish command) and the rotation of national forces (at the company level) of V4 countries in the Baltic states in 2017 for common training purposes as a part of a multilateral agreement – is the area in which the V4 has been the most visible as a united group (with the exception of the group’s hardline stance on migration).

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