Two Plus Two is not Necessarily Four: German Policy Towards the Visegrád Countries
Two Plus Two is not Necessarily Four: German Policy Towards the Visegrád Countries

Summary/Abstract: Until 2015, very few people had heard of the term “Visegrád Group” in Germany, let alone had a sense about its purpose. At that time the group – also called “V4” after its four member states Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary – saw its main task in the coordination and exchange of information, national positions, as well as cooperation on “soft” projects such as infrastructure. For Germany, the Visegrád countries, with a combined population of around 65 million people, not only constitute important partners on its Eastern border, but together these countries generate a trade volume which is 50% higher than Germany’s largest trading partner, China. Nevertheless, among foreign policy and economic experts it was a common view that the format was outdated, because its original purpose – mutual assistance on the path of post-communist transformation towards EU and NATO membership – had long been fulfilled. Yet, the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015 reinvigorated the V4, particularly in their tough stance against German chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.

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