Fico and Babisz want to convince Tusk to resume cooperation within the V4

The Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Andrej Babisz and Robert Fico, want to resume cooperation within the Visegrad Group (V4) and intend to convince Prime Minister Donald Tusk to do so. Babisz revealed on Thursday that he had discussed this issue with Tusk during recent multilateral meetings in Brussels and Paris.

“We will do everything to make V4 gain strength again”

In accordance with a long-standing tradition, the new Czech Prime Minister on Thursday paid the first bilateral visit to Slovakia, with which the Czech Republic has formed a common state for decades. Fico recalled at a press conference in Bratislava that his country in July this year. will take over the presidency of the V4, which – next to Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – also includes Hungary.

– We will be extremely active and do everything to make V4 regain the strength it had in the past. A power that consisted in the ability of four EU member states to independently formulate positions and opinions that could influence (decisions) Brussels, Fico said.

“V4 used to function perfectly”

Babisz believes that V4 once functioned perfectly. He recalled joint actions with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki against the so-called migration quotas and certain climate arrangements. He emphasized that Poland plays an important role within the V4.

– I talked about it at the European Council (in Brussels) and in Paris (during the meeting of the coalition of the willing, organized on January 6 – PAP) with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and I will definitely try to have some bilateral talks. Of course, this is about tense relations between Poland and Hungary, emphasized the Czech Prime Minister.

“Poland has always been the most important within the V4”

He announced that he and the Slovak Prime Minister wanted to convince Poland to return to cooperation on the V4 forum, but in such a way that the talks concerned only European topics. – I think it can work because Poland has always been the most important within the V4. At least I think so and we talked together that we could try, added Babisz after Thursday's talks with the Slovak partner.

Fico and Babis agreed to return to joint meetings of the Czech and Slovak governments, which the previous Czech cabinet of Petro Fiala suspended after the meeting between Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in March 2024.

Piotr Górecki (PAP)

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