The Visegrad Group (V4) is more important today than when its member states joined the European Union in 2004, Foreign Minister János Martonyi said on Monday, addressing a conference marking the tenth anniversary of the EU accession of ten member states.
Mr Martonyi declared that the V4 group of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia had, despite difficulties, notched up major achievements. Whereas the question of the future of the V4 had been raised after the 2004 EU accession, its importance had since grown. One of the secrets of its success was resisting the temptation to allow more countries into its fold or to set up separate institutions in order to realise cooperation. Even the greatest optimists would have thought the huge developments and successes of the Visegrad Group unimaginable at the start of the 1990s, he added.
The V4's role and responsibility are increasing, the Hungarian Foreign Minister claimed. It is not known what will happen as a result of the armed Ukrainian-Russian conflict in the next few days, months or years, and the V4 has an important role to play in this question; the creation of a battle group is also essential, he said.
Mr Martonyi said the reunification of Europe was far from complete and this work must be continued. He said he agreed with Václav Havel, who defined central Europe as a cultural and intellectual entity which has turned into an economic and political reality.
After addressing the conference, the Hungarian Foreign Minister held talks with his Visegrad counterparts, with the exception of the Czech foreign minister who could not attend. They agreed that the EU had helped the Visegrad cooperation move forward and that the V4 had aided bilateral relations perhaps to an even greater extent.
Mr Martonyi noted at the meeting that surveys show that Hungarians are aligned with a pro-European position above the level of the EU average, "which, of course, does not mean that EU-scepticism does not exist in the country". He added that there is one Hungarian political party running in the EP elections which would hold a referendum on EU membership, but even this viewpoint has softened substantially recently, which he said is proof that Hungarians essentially understand the benefits of membership.
Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák agreed at the V4 meeting that EU membership helps relations between V4 countries by making it necessary for them to channel disputes in a way that conforms to EU norms. There are only a few issues on which there are dissenting views, he added.
As regards the crisis in Ukraine, Lajčák said Russia should not be isolated, nor was he in favour of sanctions. But it remains a moot point as to what other options countries will have at their disposal in the current situation. "Negotiations would bring better results," he said.
Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, said Ukraine would perhaps benefit from the decentralisation demanded by Russia, but it is up to Kiev to make this decision. He added that Russian speaking has not been put at a disadvantage in eastern Ukraine, where it is spoken by all; conversely, the Ukrainian speakers are now at at disadvantage.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi stated that it had been a grave mistake on the part of the new Ukrainian leadership to block the existing Ukrainian language law, and he called on Kiev to show tolerance towards all minorities in the country.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
