President Zuzana Čaputová attended the V4 Presidents Summit at Lány Castle near Prague on Wednesday and Thursday (2–3 October 2019). She thanked the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman for his hospitality, organization and friendly welcome. 

The president saw this year’s meeting as a highly symbolic event because it marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wawll and the Velvet Revolution. These are milestones that are closely associated with the arrival of freedom and democracy in our region and they provide an opportunity to remind ourselves that the V4 was established as a way for us to help each other and above all to contribute to the unification of Europe, unity, freedom and democracy.

“We have had two days of discussions on the direction of the Visegrad Group, on our position within the European Union, as well as on the challenges our countries are facing. I am convinced that it is precisely in times when we and the European Union are facing many challenges, many of which would be insurmountable for a country standing alone, that we, as the V4, need to contribute to solutions. We need to present specific proposals and seek allies outside our region”.

The presidents also discussed the situation in the EU, the multiannual financial framework, the EU’s new priorities for environmental protection and tackling the climate crisis, the functioning of EU institutions, the rule of law, justice and enlargement. 

The EU budget will also focus on the new priorities, which we need to see as new opportunities, especially given the challenges that the V4 countries will face in the near future, which include automation and robotics, but also the climate crisis. As a specific example, Slovakia is preparing for the transformation of the Upper Nitra region. The president believes the V4 countries should consider the EU budget’s new priorities in the context of these new challenges.

“I see the European institutions as our ally in this process. That is why Slovakia supports further European integration. Because most of the benefits of EU membership that our citizens enjoy are an effect of integration. This is one of the reasons why it is not in our interest to support any efforts to return to a Europe of nation states, as we would have less power as Slovakia, but also as the V4.”

The President is convinced that it is up to us how we work with the institutions to ensure that our priorities – enlargement, relations with Ukraine, energy, as well as reducing disparities – become a part of specific EU policies and outcomes.

The President is pleased that at the end of the meeting, the presidents of Slovenia and Serbia could also join the V4 presidents to discuss a common priority, which is the enlargement of the EU to include the countries of the Western Balkans.

“Another part of the European Union’s mission is to continue the unification of Europe. From our own historical experience, we know that the prospect of EU membership was both a strong impetus and a motivation for us when implementing reforms that were very difficult and unpopular in their time, but which continue to benefit our countries and our citizens to this day. Slovakia will therefore support EU enlargement in relation to the Western Balkan countries. In this process, we should also keep in mind future relations on our eastern border – with Ukraine. Of course, any progress on this issue will depend on how membership candidates fulfil their domestic responsibilities. How they continue their reforms, how they strengthen the rule of law and how they participate in our common values. At the same time, however, we need to recognise that we can also contribute to the enlargement of the EU by giving ourselves as an example – for candidate countries, by showing that demanding reforms are worthwhile; and for other EU Member States, to show that enlargement was a good investment in a united, strong and prosperous Europe”.