Summit of Presidents of V4 and Slovenia Finishes in Sopot, Poland

The second day of the V4 summit continued in Sopot, Poland, with a plenary meeting with the attendance of Slovenian President Danilo Tűrk. Topics of the second plenary meeting included energy security as well as the financial and economic crisis.
At the end of the meeting, the presidents also discussed the strengthening of regional cooperation between V4 countries within the EU.

The host of the summit, President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, informed during the press conference held after the meeting that the presidents also talked about an experiment of the V4 which is supposed to be the establishment of V4 consular offices in some countries. “It is a difficult task, but I hope that we will succeed,” Mr. Kaczynski said.

The President of Hungary, László Sólyom, highlighted the importance of the V4, thanks to which its members may present their opinions within the European Union. He also confirmed the involvement of Hungary in efforts aimed at the deepening of European integration.

New issues concerning both Europe and the world were brought up at the meeting by Slovenian President Danilo Türk. He appreciated the possibility to develop cooperation between Slovenia and the V4 countries and confirmed the interest of his country to meet within the Visegrad Group both at the level of government and other levels.

The President of the Slovak Republic, Ivan Gašparovič, proposed to his partners the establishment of the Visegrad region as one of the new regions of the EU within the EU strategy concerning work in regions. “As you all know, a similar regional project is being launched for the Baltic Sea and a strategy for the Danube region is being drawn up. I am convinced that Slovakia as well as other V4 countries will support these projects of new EU regions”, Mr. Gašparovič said at the press conference. “I am convinced that this is the way for the region to become stronger. In this respect, I appreciate the Slovenian President attending the meeting, as the V4 does not want to get in the position of seclusion, but will be happy to cooperate with all countries which may, to a certain extent, influence solutions to those issues our region faces,” the President of Slovakia added.

According to Mr. Gašparovič, the concept of the Visegrad region should not mean the establishment of some new institutions. In his opinion, such decisions should be made on an ad hoc basis – “when we have a feeling that our region is in need of something that it wishes to pursue and persuade not only the EU but possibly all of Europe”.

The Slovak President also proposed to his partners the founding of a “President’s Award” for citizens or organizations which significantly contribute to positive presentation of the V4 and solving of specific issues. He appreciated the positive functioning of the Visegrad Fund which, in his opinion, is very successful in relation to the Balkan countries. “I am glad that this Fund successfully supports projects in culture, education and science,” Mr. Gašparovič pointed out.

A proposal by Mr. Gašparovič to the presidents of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to try to establish a joint TV and radio broadcasting for the V4 countries was met with a positive reaction. It would focus on current topics the V4 deals with. Mr. Gašparovič thinks “there are many ideas and projects which citizens, and maybe even politicians, in some of the V4 countries do not even know about.” The President appreciated that his partners had accepted these proposals and that they will work together to find ways to implement them.

Mr. Gašparovič thanked Polish President Lech Kaczynski for the pleasant environment in which the summit was held. “I appreciate that the meeting was to the point, despite some issues being very global. We have arrived, however, at a suitable standpoint concerning those issues that were discussed. We all came to an agreement that the V4 is a group which performs its tasks in relation to the presentation of this region”, Mr. Gašparovič said.

The next meeting of the V4 presidents is scheduled to take place in the first half of next year in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The host will be Czech President Václav Klaus, who deemed this year’s two-day summit a necessary, productive and successful meeting. “It is an annual meeting which successfully contributes to the development of our mutual relations and understanding,” he added.