Visegrad 4 collaboration in peril?

A centrist analyst suspects that the Visegrád alliance will lose steam, after the decision by the Polish Constitutional Court’s to reject the primacy of EU law over national legislation, and the likely end of Andrej Babis’ government in the Czech Republic.

On Portfolio, Csaba Kiss ponders the future of V4 cooperation in light of the recent developments in the Czech Republic and Poland. Kiss recalls that the four country alliance became tighter after the 2015 migration crisis, and has become a major political actor in the EU. Cooperation, nonetheless, is not without diplomatic friction, Kiss adds, mentioning the recent example of the Hungarian government’s plan to purchase tens of thousands of hectares of land in Slovakia. The Hungarian purchase of Slovak land was criticized in Slovakia right across the political spectrum, with some commentators even suggesting that the Hungarian plan serves territorial revision. After the Slovak government raised concern, the Hungarian government cancelled the project. Concerning the future of the V4, Kiss suspects that the Polish Constitutional Court’s decision to reject the primacy of EU law over the Polish constitution, and the end of Andrej Babis’ government in Czechia may have the biggest impact. Kiss concludes that as a result, the Visegrád alliance may now lose momentum.

Tags: Czech Republic, diplomacy, EU, Poland, Slovakia, Visegrád 4