Europhile and Hungarosceptic Entente Cordiale in the making between Prague and Bratislava.Continue reading
The new Czech President. Petr Pavel, who has already criticized the conservative Hungarian government for taking a different position on the Ukraine war, continues to seek to weaken the Visegrád Four (V4).
The format of the Visegrád Four (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic) is a consultation forum for economic, business, and cultural exchanges, but does not aim for more in-depth cooperation on foreign and security policy issues, Czech President Petr Pavel said in Bratislava on Monday at a press conference with Slovak President Zuzana Caputová, according to Slovak news agency TASR.
Setkání s prezidentkou @ZuzanaCaputova bylo připomínkou hodnot, které naše národy spojují, i výzev, jimž společně čelíme. Děkuji za vřelé přijetí, díky kterému se cítím téměř jako doma. Těším se na spolupráci nejen v oblasti energetiky, ekologie, ale i boje proti dezinformacím. pic.twitter.com/axTxHV4VAC
— Petr Pavel (@prezidentpavel) March 13, 2023
On his first official trip abroad, the new Czech head of state said that cooperation was growing within the framework of the Slavkov Three (Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) and the Bucharest Nine (B9), which brings together the Central and Eastern European NATO member states. He added that he would welcome closer cooperation between the V4 and the Baltic countries.
After the meeting, Caputová said that Slovakia and the Czech Republic share the same positions on foreign policy, the protection of the principles of the rule of law, and respect for international law.
Featured photo via Twitter/Zuzana Caputová