Friday, July 3, 2020
Poland takes over the presidency of the Visegrad Group
The heads of governments of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are meeting today in Belvedere Palace, Warsaw, for the official inauguration of the Polish presidency of the Visegrad Group.
Talks between Mateusz Morawiecki, Andrej Babiš, Igor Matovič and Viktor Orbán will be preceded by a speech by the host of this meeting, President Andrzej Duda, on the future EU budget and migration policy.
Poland took over the annual rotational chairmanship of the Visegrad Group on July 1 from the Czech Republic and will hand it over to Hungary in a year. The slogan of the Polish presidency is: "Back on track", and the actions it initiated - as announced by the head of Polish diplomacy Jacek Czaputowicz - are to focus on four goals: a strong Visegrad Group in a strong Europe; return to (new) normality after the COVID-19 pandemic; people-to-people contacts, activities for integration and cohesion within V4 and development of digital and innovative cooperation.
The Visegrad Group was created in February 1991, and cooperation within it is not institutionalized. Instead, it involves consultations held as part of cyclical meetings at various political levels, primarily presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers.