The Visegrád Group

The Visegrád Group, Visegrád Four, or V4, is a cultural and political alliance of four countries of Central Europe (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), all of which are members of the EU and of NATO, to advance co-operation in military, cultural, economic and energy matters with one another and to further their integration to the EU.

The Group traces its origins to the summit meetings of leaders from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland held in the Hungarian castle town of Visegrád on 15 February 1991. Visegrád was chosen as the location for the 1991 meeting as an intentional allusion to the medieval Congress of Visegrád in 1335 between John I of Bohemia, Charles I of Hungary and Casimir III of Poland.

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent members of the group, thus increasing the number of members from three to four. All four members of the Visegrád Group joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Historical background

The name of the Group is derived and the place of meeting selected from the 1335 Congress of Visegrád held by the Bohemian (Czech), Polish, and Hungarian rulers in Visegrád. Charles I of Hungary, Casimir III of Poland, and John of Bohemia agreed to create new commercial routes to bypass the city of Vienna, a staple port, which required goods to be offloaded and offered for sale in the city before they could be sold elsewhere, and to obtain easier access to other European markets. The recognition of Czech sovereignty over the Duchy of Silesia was also confirmed. The second Congress took place in 1339 and decided that if Casimir III of Poland died without a son, which actually happened, the King of Poland would be the son of Charles I of Hungary, Louis I of Hungary.

From the 1500s, large parts of the present-day countries became part of or were influenced by the Vienna-based Habsburg Monarchy until the end of World War I and the dissolution of the Habsburg-ruled Austria-Hungary. After World War II, the countries became satellite states of the Soviet Union, as the Polish People's Republic, the Hungarian People's Republic and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe enabled the three countries to embrace capitalism and democracy. In December 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union would occur. The Visegrád Group was established on 15 February 1991.