V4

A new policy paper, produced with the support of the Visegrad Fund project, analyses the views of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary on the further enlargement of the European Union. With the granting of candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine and the recognition of Georgia as a potential candidate in June 2022, the issue of reforming the EU accession process is becoming absolutely crucial and, in the context of the war in Ukraine, a divisive issue for the V4 countries. The authors of the publication are Jana Juzová, Ferenc Németh, Tomáš Strážay and Marta Szpala.

The project assesses the production, distribution and consumption of news on Ukraine’s future vis-a-vis European integration by the V4 mainstream media. The aim is to designate both dominant and marginalized narratives, while also analyzing their impact via focus groups. The findings will be presented to stakeholders in order to improve reporting and increase the audiences’ access to information.

The project focuses on strengthening civil society organizations in Serbia towards more successful advocacy and enhanced participation in policymaking within the area of green transformation with a particular focus on coal phase-out.

Read the background paper for the Belgrade conference, which focuses on the phasing out of coal mining in the V4 countries, to representatives of Serbian civil society. Our project manager and junior researcher Tatiana Mindekova worked on the paper on behalf of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy.

Our senior researcher Jana Juzová wrote an article for VISEGRAD/INSIGHT on "The Czech Republic and Slovakia in the lead". Since July, the Czech Republic has held the presidency of the EU Council and Slovakia the presidency of the Visegrad Four. Although the V4 is now in the shadow of Czech and Slovak foreign policy, this does not mean that it is less important or that it is falling apart. However, the V4 crisis triggered by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán may be an opportunity for the Czech Republic and Slovakia to determine the direction of the Visegrad Four.

Our Senior Research Fellow Jana Juzová was a guest on a podcast hosted by Visegrad Insight, where she discusses the launch of the Czech EU Presidency and the Slovak Presidency of the Visegrad Group.

The head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented for Visegrad Insight. Žiga Faktor points out that the centre-left opposition parties united in an informal coalition known as the "Constitutional Arch Coalition" have not coordinated as closely as the opposition parties in the Czech Republic, which have formed two coalition blocs, the centre-right SPOLU and the centrist PirStan.

Jakub Ferenčík wrote a blog on the current topic: The Sixth Sanctions Package & the Visegrad Group’s Reliance on Putin’s Gas. Russia's aggression in Ukraine has necessitated another package of sanctions, this time in the energy sector. Due to the lack of alternatives for gas supplies, the Visegrad Four countries had a problem with the implementation of the latest sanctions package. In the end, the EU found a consensus and introduced exemptions for the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

The Think Visegrad platform, which brings together think tanks from the Visegrad countries, including the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, is offering 8 visiting fellowships to non-Visegrad expert fellows for the period Autumn/Winter of 2022. The duration of fellowships varies from 6 to 8 weeks (based on agreement with the hosting institute).

The director of our Brussel's office, Žiga Faktor, gave a commentary to World Politics Review on their new article Germany's New Government Could Spell Trouble for the Visegrad Four. The New German Government had been getting positive reviews even before it took office in early December. But not everyone is pleased with the new coalition government, one of which is Viktor Orban.

We would like to invite you to the fourth debate from the EU-Pacific talks series titled "Japan – V4 relations – more central but still European" The debate will take place online on the 11th of January and will be broadcasted on our Facebook page.

As part of a study visit to the Brussels office of the Think Visegrad platform, a publication by Tamáš Boros was created, which focuses on the issue of poverty in the Visegrad countries. The document outlines the current situation in the region, as despite robust economic growth in the V4 countries, unemployment is still much higher than in Western Europe.