Unity key to V4’s success, says Orbán in Krakow

If the Visegrad Group wants to remain successful over the next 30 years, sticking together will be the secret to the group’s success, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after a meeting with his V4 counterparts in Krakow on Wednesday.

The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia met European Council President Charles Michel on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Visegrad Group.

In response to a question from Hungarian public media, Orbán told a joint press conference with his V4 counterparts that loyalty and solidarity would be the key to the central European group’s ability to continue fulfilling its duty in the future.

Orbán said he believed Slovakia had a strategic role in the alliance, not just because of its geographical position, but also because it is Hungary’s only V4 neighbour. Slovakia is the country that links the northern and southern parts of central Europe, he said.

Orbán emphasised the importance of preserving the unity among the four countries.

Though the Visegrad Group may be marking 30 years of cooperation, he said, they were looking back hundreds of years to the first form of cooperation between the leaders of the central European countries.

Orbán said it was this historical perspective that made the Visegrad cooperation as serious as it was.

Orbán noted that he had been a member of the parliament that approved the Visegrad cooperation 30 years ago. “Though there were serious problems to be dealt with at the time,” parliament had the time and strength to have one of its first votes be on strengthening central European cooperation, the prime minister added.

Orbán emphasised that central Europe was the fastest growing region of the European economy.

Concerning the issue of vaccines against coronavirus, Orbán said Hungary’s priority was to procure enough safe and effective jabs as quickly as possible, adding that procuring the vaccines quickly was more important than their cost.