Poland’s Policy in the Visegrad Group
Poland’s Policy in the Visegrad Group

Summary/Abstract: Poland’s policy in the Visegrad Group (V4) as well as its policies towards the member states of the V4—the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary—is an important element of the regional dimension of its foreign relations. Since the accession of Poland and the other states to the European Union, the significance of EU-related considerations in shaping this policy has increased. The political cooperation between the V4 member states is an instrument as well as—in a sense—a manifestation of their European policies. In Poland’s policy towards the individual states of the Group, EU issues are also becoming an increasingly significant reference point. Within the Group its member states also pursue strictly regional goals, resulting from the neighbourly nature of their mutual relations. In this dimension as well, Visegrad cooperation supplements and—to a degree—also replaces traditional bilateral relations within the region. Bilateral contacts increasingly often serve to address matters of a multilateral nature. Thus, the EU, Visegrad, and bilateral planes of political relations in Central Europe are interdependent, a fact which calls for comprehensive approach to Poland’s policy in this sphere. The vision of cooperation in the region takingplace at “different speeds,” one dependant on bilateral relations and the convergence of standpoints at the EU level, has already led certain political commentators to claim that Central European cooperation takes place not so much within the Visegrad Group as within the Visegrad space. Developments in 2007 have only confirmed this tendency.

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