The V4 are stronger than ever, the challenges of the recent past have made this regional cooperation even stronger, László Szabó, Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Monday in Budapest.
The Minister of State highlighted in his speech delivered at the opening of the Antall József Summer School on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Visegrád cooperation (V4: Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia): we have been compelled to face new challenges continuously in the past twenty-five years, and ”one gets to know one’s friend when one is in trouble”, which is evident in the Visegrád cooperation.
Mr Szabó said: the V4 is also a community centred around values. Additionally, the outside world, too, takes four states together more seriously than countries on their own, and they are able to build relations with larger countries more easily, he explained.
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He said: common traditions will move this cooperation forward also in the future, and though these traditions tie the four countries of the region together as a matter of course, the V4 are also open to cooperation with other countries. We have plenty to be proud of, but there are a great many tasks left which we have yet to complete together, he said in evaluation of the activities of the V4.
The Minister of State said: a number of events will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Visegrád Group this year, including the summer school now opened which is being held for the fourth time and is attended by 45 young people from 21 countries.
Mr Szabó said: ”in the name of Antall’s ideal, we do not need more or less Europe, but a better Europe”, and the Visegrád cooperation may also help to achieve this.
In his welcome speech Péter Antall, Director of the Antall József Knowledge Centre pointed out: the world is changing so fast that it is hard to understand the changes, even the latest developments of the last few weeks, but there is something that we can hold onto: the Visegrád cooperation. ”We understand one another” here, and the common past is the basis of our cooperation: the bitter experiences of the socialist regime, the change of regime, and the difficulties of the period thereafter, he explained.
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Mr Antall also said: the Visegrád alliance is stronger today than ever before because these countries are tied together by their common interests, and it is to be hoped that this cooperation will be equally successful in the next twenty-five years as well.
Frank Spengler, the head of the representation in Hungary of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation highlighted in his speech the close relations and intensive economic cooperation between Germany and the V4. In his view, the current ”critical situation” must induce the intensification of relations between Germany and the Visegrád countries in Europe and around the continent.
After the opening, a roundtable discussion was held under the title Perspectives of the Visegrád Cooperation After 25 Years with the participation of former Polish Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka, former Slovak Prime Minister Mikulás Dzurinda, former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, and former Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi.
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The summer school which will extend to 15 July will deal with issues such as the events of 1956, the effect of the disintegration of the Soviet Union on Eastern-Central-Europe, the economic challenges of the region, the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement, relations between Germany and Eastern-Central-Europe, the immigration crisis, the West Balkans region, and the challenges of security policy.
The Antall József Knowledge Centre non-profit foundation was named after József Antall, Hungary’s first freely elected Prime Minister after the change of regime. The core mission of the knowledge centre is to foster the tradition and spirit of the late Prime Minister. The Antall József Knowledge Centre organises conferences, lectures and training courses, and is also engaged in book publishing.
(MTI)
