About: Visegrad Four
Polish PM cancels trip to Israel in wake of comments on Poles in Holocaust
Poland’s prime minister has cancelled a trip to Israel in the wake of reported remarks made by his Israeli counterpart suggesting Polish complicity during the Holocaust, an aide in his office told Polish media on Sunday (17 February). A government...
Visegrad Four to hold first summit abroad… in Jerusalem
The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will hold the first summit of their Visegrad grouping in Jerusalem, a move which looks like a slap in the face of the EU at a time the Union tries...
Nine EU members stay away from UN migration pact
Three EU members voted against, five abstained and one didn’t vote during the formal ratification on Wednesday (19 December) in New York of the Global Compact on Migration.
Anti-migrant protesters clash outside EU headquarters
Thousands of far-right supporters marched in Brussels on Sunday (16 December) against a UN pact aimed at fostering cooperation on migration, and clashed with police outside the EU headquarters.
Belgian PM suggests Visegrad countries should be ousted from Schengen
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Friday (14 December) EU countries that show no solidarity in the management of migration open the debate about whether they have a place in the Schengen area.
Marrakesh UN forum adopts migration pact despite withdrawals
A United Nations conference adopted a migration pact in front of leaders and representatives from over 160 countries in Morocco on Monday (10 December), despite a string of withdrawals, including several EU countries, driven by anti-immigrant populism.
Host migrants or pay, France and Germany propose
European Union governments that refuse to host refugees could instead pay to be excused from the bloc's system of sharing out migrants, France and Germany proposed on Thursday (6 December) as they sought to end a long-running EU feud over migration.
Juncker Commission gives up on Dublin asylum reform
Faced with the opposition of member states from the Visegrad group, the Juncker Commission made it plain on Tuesday (4 December) that it has given up on one of its declared goals: completing the reform of the Common European Asylum System.
Slovakia becomes 8th EU country to oppose global migration pact
All Visegrad countries have now rejected the United Nations pact on the treatment of migrants worldwide, after Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on Sunday (25 November) announced his country's position after the EU summit.
Czech PM wants to leave global migration pact
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Thursday (1 November) he wanted to pull the Czech Republic out of a United Nations migration deal and would discuss this with his governing coalition partner, news website idnes.cz reported.
Macron warns Visegrad Four not to leave EU values behind
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (26 October) warned eastern EU members not to fall out of step with the bloc's principles, singling out Hungary and Poland whose nationalist governments have clashed with Brussels.
In the next seven years Central Europe will determine the future of Europe
Central Europe could become more positive to the core EU in the likely case of another major economic crisis, which would oblige them to marry the eurozone family, writes Wojciech Przybylski, who also looks at several other, more dramatic, scenarios for the region.
Poland, Czech Republic against EU border guard plan
Poland's premier on Monday (15 October) said he and his Czech counterpart oppose a plan to bolster the European Union's external borders, fearing they would receive less infrastructure funding if the scheme goes ahead.
Visegrad express railway project unveiled
Four Central European countries announced Monday (1 October) a plan to build a high-speed rail link between Budapest and Warsaw, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
Czech, Slovak premiers bristle at beefing up of Frontex
The European Union should steer funds to individual member countries to help them guard their own borders against illegal migration, rather than emphasise funding for Frontex, the common EU border force, the Czech and Slovak premiers said on Monday (17 September).
Czech MEPs downplay V4 role in EU’s migration policy change
The EU is finally heading the way we are proposing in terms of migration policy, the Visegrád Group countries say. But two Czech MEPs point out that the V4’s contribution to the change may be limited and other factors should be considered as well.
Salvini and Orbán launch anti-immigration manifesto ahead of EU elections
Hungary’s illiberal Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini launched Tuesday (28 August) an anti-migration manifesto aiming at next year's European parliament elections, targeting a common enemy.
Political scientist: Germans are used to V4’s strong “No” from time to time
The EU's stand on migration policy is moving towards the demands of the Visegrad group, one of the best functioning groups in the bloc, says Dr Kai-Olaf Lang, adding that in many respects, Germany and V4 are much closer to each other today than Germany and France.
Italy’s Conte calls for EU body to coordinate migrant arrivals
Italy has asked the European Commission to set up an agency to oversee the distribution of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Giovanni Conte said yesterday (19 July).
EU summit approves tortured conclusions on migration after sleepless night
EU leaders reached a much-needed deal on steps to tackle migration after resolving a bitter row with Italy's inexperienced prime minister. Extended talks lasted through the night and only wrapped up on Friday morning (29 June).
EU summit to focus on lowering Mediterranean immigration
European Union leaders meeting over migration later this week will agree to further tighten their external borders, give more support to Libya and look at creating "disembarkation" centres outside of their territory for people who arrive by sea.
Tensions build ahead of hastily prepared migration meeting
Jean-Claude Juncker's invitation to a handful of EU leaders for an informal mini-summit on Sunday (27 June) to discuss migration and asylum appears to have raised more issues than the meeting can solve.
Czech PM flatly rejects EU post-Brexit budget proposal
Czech billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babiš yesterday (18 June) rejected the European Commission's multi-year draft budget as "completely unacceptable", lashing out at spending priorities imposed by Brussels.