The presidents of the four Visegrad countries, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic got together for their annual meeting on 16 September 2006. One of the key issues was their entry into the Schengen zone without border controls.
The Commission had said their admission to Schengen zone, originally foreseen in 2007, would be delayed by at least a year. According to official sources, the delay is caused by technical problems with the Schengen Information System II.
On behalf of the Visegrad group, Czech President Vaclav Klaus sharply criticised this, saying that “all four presidents see entry into the Schengen zone as an absolute priority and would view it as discrimination if it were delayed.”
The enlargement of the Schengen zone will also be discussed at the informal Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Tampere on 20-22 September 2006. A decision on this issue could be expected at the Justice, Freedom and Security Council on 5-6 October 2006.
The four countries admitted that the aim of joining the euro zone during the next years was set too high. Klaus said that “all countries are no longer under the illusion that 2007-9 are realistic dates for adopting the euro and agree that we’re talking about much, much later dates.”
Most of the new member states countries have been struggling with high inflation rates and high budget deficits and failed to meet the convergence criteria, necessary for entering the euro zone.
The Visegrad group was formed after the end of the Soviet Union to increase their influence on the international stage.
