The Visegrad Group is an association of four Central European states. It was formed in Visegrad (Hungary) in 1991, on February 15th. Let us further consider which states are included in the Visegrad Group and the features of the existence of the association.
General information
Initially, the Visegrad group of countries was called the Visegrad trio. Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel and Jozsef Antall took part in its formation. In 1991, on February 15, they signed a joint declaration on the desire to integrate into the structures of Europe.
Which countries are in the Visegrad Group?
The leaders of Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia participated in the signing of the joint declaration. In 1993, Czechoslovakia officially ceased to exist. As a result, the Visegrad Group included not three, but four countries: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Prerequisites for creation
The history of the Visegrad Group began in the early 90s. A special role in relations in the eastern part of Europe and the choice of the international political direction was played not only by the cultural and historical, but also by the human factor. In the region it was necessary to form a kind of anti-communista quasi-structure oriented toward civilizational kinship with the West.
Multiple schemes were used at once, as the risk of failure was quite high. The Central European Initiative began to take shape in the southern direction, and the Visegrad Initiative in the northern direction. At the initial stage, the Eastern European states intended to maintain integration without the participation of the USSR.
It is worth saying that in the history of the formation of the Visegrad Group there are still many unsolved mysteries. The idea was immediately taken very cautiously, since it was revolutionary for that time. Politicians and experts not only spoke, but also thought in terms of the Central European Initiative, which was reborn in the outlines of Austria-Hungary, which was considered the only possible continuation of the history of Eastern Europe.
Formation features
According to the official version, the idea of creating the Visegrad Group of countries arose in 1990, in November. A meeting of the CSCE was held in Paris, during which the Hungarian Prime Minister invited the leaders of Czechoslovakia and Poland to Visegrad.
February 15, 1991 Antall, Havel and Walesa signed the declaration in the presence of prime ministers, foreign ministers and the President of Hungary. As Yesensky notes, this event was not the result of pressure from Brussels, Washington or Moscow. The states included in the Visegrad Group independently decided to unite for further joint work with the West in order to avoid a repetition of historical events, to accelerate the "transition from Soviet toEuro-Atlantic direction".
Merge value
The first agreements in which the states participated after the collapse of the USSR, the Warsaw Pact, CMEA, Yugoslavia, de alt mainly with issues of strengthening cooperation in the field of regional security. They were signed in 1991, in October. Zbigniew Brzezinski believed that the Visegrad Group would act as a kind of buffer. It was supposed to protect the center of "developed Europe" from the unstable situation on the territory of the USSR that ceased to exist.
Achievements
The most successful result of cooperation between the countries of the Visegrad Group at the initial stage of its existence is the signing of the Central European Agreement regulating free trade. It was signed on December 20, 1992.
This event made it possible to form a single customs zone before the entry of states into the EU. The signing of the agreement demonstrated the ability of the members of the Visegrad Group to develop constructive solutions. Accordingly, this created the prerequisites for the joint mobilization of forces in defending their own interests in the EU.
Unsustainable cooperation
The formation of the Visegrad Group did not prevent the collapse of Czechoslovakia. It did not save from the growing tension in relations between Hungary and Slovakia. In 1993, the Visegrad Troika turned into a four within its former borders. At the same time, Hungary and Slovakia began a dispute about the continuation of the construction of a hydroelectric complex on the Danube.
The continued existence of the Visegrad Group is due to the influence of the EU. At the same time, the actions of the European Union did not always ensure deep interaction between the members of the association. The adaptation of new members to the EU contributed to the erosion of unity rather than strengthening it.
The Central European Free Trade Area ensured the elimination of customs barriers. On the whole, it did not stimulate the development of horizontal economic relations in the region. For each country participating in the Visegrad Group, subsidies from EU funds remained a key benchmark. An open struggle was waged between the countries, which contributed to the verticalization of interstate ties and their closure at the center of the EU.
During the 1990s. The relationship between the members of the Visegrad Group was characterized to a greater extent by a tough struggle for the opportunity to be the first to become members of the European Union than by the desire for mutual assistance. For Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and Bratislava, internal processes related to the struggle for power and property, overcoming the economic crisis became a priority at the first stage of establishing a new political regime.
Calm period
Between 1994 and 1997 The Visegrad Group never met. Interaction took place mainly between Hungary and Slovakia. The leaders of the countries discussed the issue of the controversial construction of a hydroelectric complex on the Danube and the development of a friendship agreement. The signing of the latter was a condition of the European Union.
Hungarians managed to challengeconstruction of a hydroelectric complex on lands inhabited by ethnic Hungarians. However, in the European Court of Justice, the dispute was not resolved in their favor. This contributed to the buildup of tension. As a result, the meeting in Bratislava of the leaders of the Foreign Ministries of Hungary and Slovakia, planned in 1997 on September 20, was canceled.
New momentum
In 1997, on December 13, at a meeting of the Council of the European Union in Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary received an official invitation to negotiations on joining the EU. This opened up the prospect of close interaction and exchange of experience on membership issues for the group members.
There have also been certain changes in the internal life of countries. A new round of interaction has come to replace the leaders in the states. Although, in fact, there were no signs of an easy solution to the problems: in three countries, liberals and socialists came to power, and in one (Hungary), right-centrists.
Renewal of cooperation
It was announced at the end of October 1998 on the eve of the entry of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary into NATO. At a meeting in Budapest, the leaders of the states adopted a corresponding joint statement. It is noteworthy that the issue of the situation in Yugoslavia was not discussed at the meeting, despite the fact that the approach of the war was felt rather acutely. This fact confirms the assumption that at the initial stage of development, the Visegrad association was considered in the West more as an instrument of its own geopolitics.
Further development of relations
Entering NATO, war in the region for a whiletime brought together the states of the Visegrad group. However, the basis of this interaction was unstable.
One of the key problems for countries remained the search for areas of mutually beneficial cooperation. A new round of relations was still overshadowed by the dispute over the hydroelectric complex.
Preparation for the signing of membership agreements and agreement on the conditions for joining the EU took place in a fragmented manner, even, one might say, in the conditions of struggle. Agreements on the development of infrastructure, nature protection, cultural interaction did not entail any serious obligations, were not aimed at strengthening Central European cooperation as a whole.
Meeting in Bratislava
It happened in 1999, May 14th. The meeting was attended by the prime ministers of the four member states of the group. Problems of interaction with a number of countries and international organizations were discussed in Bratislava.
The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, which joined NATO on March 12, were in favor of admission to the alliance and Slovakia, which was deleted from the list of candidates during Mecijar's premiership.
In October 1999, an informal meeting of prime ministers took place in Slovak Javorina. Issues related to improving security in the region, fighting crime, and the visa regime were discussed at the meeting. On December 3 of the same year, in the Slovak Gerlachev, the presidents of the countries approved the Tatra Declaration. In it, the leaders reaffirmed their determination to continue cooperation with the aim of "giving Central Europe a new face." The declaration emphasized the desire of the group members to join the EU andthe request to NATO to accept Slovakia into the organization was duplicated.
The situation after the meeting of EU heads of state in Nice
The leaders of the countries of the group expected the results of this meeting with great hope. The meeting in Nice was held in 2000. As a result, the deadline for EU enlargement was set in 2004.
In 2001, on January 19, the leaders of the countries participating in the group adopted a declaration in which they proclaimed the achievements and successes in the process of integration into NATO and the EU. On May 31, partnership was offered to states that were not members of the association. Slovenia and Austria immediately received partner status.
After several informal meetings, in 2001, on December 5, a meeting of the prime ministers of the group and the Benelux states was held in Brussels. Before joining the EU, the states of the Visegrad Association began work to improve the regime of future cooperation within the European Union.
Premiership of V. Orban
In the early 2000s. the nature of cooperation was strongly influenced by internal contradictions. For example, the claims of the ambitious, successful, young V. Orban (Prime Minister of Hungary) to the post of leader of the group became obvious. The period of his work was marked by serious successes in the economic sphere of Hungary. Orban sought to expand the boundaries of the group by establishing close cooperation with Croatia and Austria. This perspective, however, was not consistent with the interests of Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
After Orban's statement about the responsibility of Czechoslovakia for the resettlement of Hungarians in the post-war periodBy Beneš's decrees, a lull began again in relations within the group. Before joining the EU, the Hungarian prime minister demanded that Slovakia and the Czech Republic pay compensation to the victims of the Beneš regime. As a result, in March 2002, the prime ministers of these countries did not come to the working meeting of the heads of government of the Visegrad Group.
Conclusion
In 2004, on May 12, Prime Ministers Belka, Dzurinda, Špidla, Meddesi met in Kroměř to develop plans for cooperation programs within the EU. At the meeting, the participants emphasized that accession to the European Union marked the achievement of the main goals of the Visegrad Declaration. At the same time, the prime ministers especially noted the assistance provided to them by the Benelux states and the Nordic countries. The immediate goal of the group was to assist Bulgaria and Romania in joining the EU.
Experience in the 1990s-2000s left many questions about the effectiveness of the Quartet's cooperation. However, there is no doubt that the group has ensured the maintenance of regional dialogue - a means of preventing large-scale conflicts in the center of Europe.
