1. Domov
  2. Diplomacia
  3. Slovensko a V4
Publikované 28.06.2022

Visegrad group 

The Visegrad Group (V4) celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021. The Slovak diplomacy strived to pursue a pragmatic cooperation beneficial to all countries under this format, contributing to common European solutions. In February, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the V4 leaders adopted a jubilee declaration specifying further joint steps at their summit in Krakow. The leaders reacted to the growing importance of the EU digital transformation through adopting a declaration on cooperation in digital projects. In 2021, Slovakia was the presiding country of the International Visegrad Fund. The leaders acknowledged its exceptional importance and role in strengthening regional cooperation by increasing its annual budget to 10 million euro as of 2022. This step will allow it to expand its activities mainly in the area of youth mobility. 

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President Zuzana Čaputová at the summit of Presidents of V4 countries in Budapest. The Presidents agreed to support the vaccination and also expressed their solidarity with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in the context of the migration crisis triggered by Belarus, 29 November 2021, Budapest. (Photo: Office of the President of the Slovak Republic) 

 

Neighbourly Relations  

Czech Republic: The outstanding level of our mutual relations was reconfirmed in 2021. Both countries paid special attention to harmonizing their actions and attitudes in European policies aimed at post-crisis recovery of the EU’s economy and intensification of a mutual dialogue. Slovakia showed solidarity with the Czech Republic in the Vrbětice situation, standing by its side after a devastating tornado in South Moravia. Slovakia also intensively cooperated in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Czech Republic continues to be the second most important trading partner for Slovakia (after Germany). In keeping with tradition, the first foreign visit of the Slovak Prime Minister in April was to Prague and the visit of the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs in December was to Bratislava. The new Czech Prime Minister confirmed his intention to uphold this tradition in December 2021.  

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Minister Ivan Korčok welcomes his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavský during his first working trip abroad, 20 December 2021. (Source: MFEA SR/ Tomáš Bokor) 

 

Hungary: In 2021, Slovakia continued to emphasize a pragmatic and constructive agenda in Slovak-Hungarian relations. 1. It focused on strengthening economic cooperation, expanding energy and transportation infrastructure, mainly enhancing the interconnectivity of the grid and achieving progress in the Danube-Ipelconnectors.  

The intensity of mutual relations was attested to by the negotiations of the Slovak Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in Hungary and a visit by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Slovak Republic. The talks also covered topics that are the subject of divergent views. Slovakia called for the activities of the Hungarian government related to the Slovak Republic to respect the standard framework of bilateral agreements on cooperation.  

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Minister Ivan Korčok meets with the Chief Hungarian diplomat Péter Szijjártó, 5 October 2021, in Bratislava. The ministers met in a friendly and open dialogue and discussed the current issues of bilateral cooperation (Source: MFEA SR/ Tomáš Bokor) 

 

Poland: Bilateral relations with Poland continued in a dynamic dialogue between the top constitutional representatives.   

They focused on broader security issues, including energy safety, interconnecting regional transportation and energycorridors, cross-border cooperation and activities under the framework of various formats of regional cooperation. Polish presidency of The Visegrad Group (V4) during the first half of 2021 contributed to the enhancement of bilateral communication. In the area of economic cooperation, Poland kept its prominent position, remaining Slovakia’s third most important trading partner, as it has been for a long time. Slovak-Polish economic forum held in Poprad also contributed to a positive development in the area of crossborder cooperation.

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President Zuzana Čaputová welcomed the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, on 9 November 2021, at the time of escalating tensions at the Polish-Belarusian border. The President also took an interest in the outstanding issues between Poland and the EU institutions in the field of the rule of law. (Photo: Office of the President of the Slovak Republic)