Presidential Summit of the Four Central and Eastern European Countries Held in Slovakia

The Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia) Presidential Summit kicked off on the 4th in Trencin, a city in western Slovakia, and will continue until the 5th. The summit aims to revitalize the four-nation cooperation mechanism, strengthen the collective influence of member states in European affairs, and promote the implementation of matters of common concern.

The summit was chaired by Slovak President Pellegrini and attended by Czech President Pavel, Polish President Navrotsky and Hungarian President Bauka. European Commission President von der Leyen will also attend the summit. According to Stone News Agency, this is the first time that the President of the European Commission has attended the Visegrad Group Presidential Summit.

According to reports, the meeting will focus on issues of common interest to the four Visegrad Group countries and how to further enhance the voice and influence of the countries in the group at the EU level by deepening regional cooperation.

Formal talks between the leaders of the four countries will be held at Trencin Castle on the 5th. According to the agenda, EU enlargement issues, Ukraine issues, energy supply security and energy price issues will all be important topics at this summit.

In February 1991, in order to strengthen mutual cooperation, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia held a meeting at Visegrad Castle in Hungary and created the Visegrad Group. After the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent in 1993, the number of members of the group changed from three to four. Slovakia began to serve as the rotating presidency of the Visegrad Group on July 1 this year.