What is the Visegrad group and what countries are in V4?

THE Visegrad Group is a form of informal regional cooperation between four Central European countries.

They joined the alliance to solve a number of political and cultural issues for European integration.

2

What is the Visegrad Group?

The Visegrád Group, also known as the Visegrád Four, V4, or the European Quartet, is a cultural and political union of four countries in Central Europe.

All members are part of EU and NATO, and was established to promote cooperation in military, cultural, economic and energy issues.

Their aim was to move away from communism and implement the reforms needed to become full members of the Euro-Atlantic institutions.

Their activities are not intended at all to isolate or weaken relations with other countries but to help encourage optimal cooperation with all countries.

2

Which countries are in V4?

The four countries in V4 are Czech Republic, Hungry, Poland and Slovakia.

The name originally comes from the Hungarian city of Visegrad, where kings once met for economic and political negotiations.

In 1991, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia worked together more closely to prepare to join the EU.

Countries exchange information and develop priority programs for cooperation in a growing number of areas.

Within the EU, the V4 is more of a union than of individual states.

Each year, a different member of the team assumes the position of V4 president.

Why did Boris Johnson meet the V4 countries?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged international leaders to work together to ensure the President of Russia Vladimir Putin unsuccessful.

He created a six-point plan to support Ukraine consists of:

• Advocating for an international humanitarian alliance for Ukraine
• Support Ukraine in its efforts to provide its own self-defence
• Minimize economic pressure on Putin’s regime
• Stop the dreaded normalization of what Russia is doing in Ukraine
• Pursue diplomatic avenues to de-escalate but only on the basis of the full participation of the legitimate government of Ukraine
• Start a swift campaign to strengthen security and resilience across the Euro-Atlantic region

Mr Johnson will chair a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Rutte tomorrow at Downing Street.

On Tuesday, 8 March, Mr Johnson will convene a meeting with the V4 to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the UK’s response to helping its neighbours.

He said: “Putin must fail and must be considered a failure in this act of aggression. It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order – we must defend it. it preceded the ongoing attempt to rewrite the rules by military force. .

“The world is watching. It is not the future historians but the Ukrainian people who will judge us.”