Jewel or thorn? V4 in 2017 from Slovakia’s perspective
Jewel or thorn? V4 in 2017 from Slovakia’s perspective

Author(s): Tomáš Strážay
Subject(s): Politics, Geography, Regional studies, International relations/trade, Migration Studies, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (RC SFPA)
Keywords: Slovakia; Visegrad; V4; foreign policy; 2017; EU; migrations;
Summary/Abstract: The trends that characterized Visegrad cooperation in the year 2016 continued also in 2017. The prime ministers remained the main political drivers, while the foreign ministers (and foreign ministries generally) played the role of technical coordinators. Multi-layered and intensive cooperation in various sectors continued to be an important pillar of the V4. Perhaps the most visible connecting issue continued to be migration and a negative stance on redistribution quotas, while another important binding issue became that of double standards in food quality. With the intensification of debate on the future of European integration, V4 leaders, however, continued to present positions that differed in some way. Nevertheless, no V4 country has any interest in the dissolution of the V4 – on the contrary, all of them consider it a successful model of regional cooperation in many areas.

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