Also known as the Visegrád Group, the V4 is a political and cultural alliance of four Central European countries: Poland, Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia. The group was formed in 1991 in the town of Visegrád, Hungary, (the site of a famous meeting in 1335 of the Kings of Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland), with the aim of promoting cooperation and integration among the member states, particularly in the areas of economics, defence, and cultural exchange.
More importantly, the V4 is a unique case of political trust, based on shared experience and mutual respect. Unlike any other grouping in the international arena, these states are loyal to the traditions and identities of their nations, and draw upon an instinctive but also strategic solidarity in their region, steeped in common history.
Facing the challenges of being part of a declining European Union which is reaping economic recession, invasion-level illegal migration, rocketing inequality, diplomatic divergence, weak governance, liberal-political blackmail, plummeting birth rates, empty American promises, suspiciously lucrative Chinese offers, and increasingly realistic Russian threats, only the V4 has provided a functioning and coherent response.
The V4 has the best growth figures in its class in the OECD, ambitious vision, renewed vigour. These are four very old nations, which all have relatively young states. In defiance of failing global trends, this is a rare case of a select few who have the luxury of looking to their neighbours for security and reliable support, rather than competitive petty rivalry and mischief.
This is the unique case in international relations which proves that national friendship and mutual support doesn’t require obtuse bureaucratic formality weighing down the partner governments. Similar institutions often require permanent staff numbered in the thousands, while V4 has dozens at most. Instead, flexibility and respect for potentially disruptive disagreements is achieved by purely intergovernmental, mature, civilised communication.
Rather than similar bodies which soon face stagnation or decline, there is potential in the V4 for more levels of aggregate relationships within departments and industries such as digital infrastructure, research and innovation, emerging technology in AI and cybersecurity, agriculture, regional transportation links which could see future collaboration across both domestic and foreign policy.
There is plenty of will and action to keep quality goods and services as well as hard-earned capital within the region through CEFTA, and industry worldwide is excited about V4 co-operation on regional infrastructure projects such as improving international motorways, railways, and energy pipeline connections.
The start-up sector is noticing that innovation can spring from partnerships between businesses and educational institutions, especially the world-class universities in the V4, capitalising on the different niche specialisms found in the talent pools.
Security concerns have a shared urgency in V4, in which external powers will never be fully invested. Rather than being used as a buffer, a playing field, a mediator, a shock-absorber, mere pawns, as it sometimes was historically, the region can develop its own strength to realise its own priorities. These are not powers known for greedy imperialist pretensions to world domination, only nations fighting to secure their existence in an unreliable continental order. The V4 is developing a strong protective security flank against the East and a stronger cultural barrier against the excesses of the West, preserving national renewal in Central Europe.
After the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, joining the EU and NATO were just steps for V4. They were not the end-goal. Total integration into a morphing superstate is not an option, and is only preventable by co-ordinated joint response to institutional overreach. This is the sweet spot which only the V4 have managed to leverage, for the benefit of the whole continent.
The chattering think thanks of the fashionable left have tried for years to re-invent the V4 in their own conjured-up image, as an authoritarian gang of poor and backwards feudal tyrannies, only lifted out of soviet communism by the selfless altruistic sweat of liberal ivory-tower academics, who should be grateful for their freedom to Brussels and Berlin.
The Visegrád Group is a flourishing political and cultural alliance of Central European countries that has effectively leveraged their shared heritage and values to create a successful and dynamic partnership. With impressive economic growth, a renewed sense of energy, and a commitment to preserving their unique identities, the V4 serves as an inspiring example of the power of collaboration. As they continue to cooperate on key initiatives like digital infrastructure, innovation, and security, the V4 has the potential to become an even more significant force on the continent and beyond.
