Meeting of Presidents of the V4 Countries in Piešťany

The Presidents of the V4 countries discussed in Piešťany the current status and practical future prospects of efficient cooperation between the V4 countries. The Presidents of these Central European states agreed that the European Neighbourhood Policy and further enlargement of the European Union was among the priorities of the foreign policy of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. According to the host—Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič—the purpose of the cooperation of the V4 is "in the search for common solutions and mutual support wherever possible".

Despite much success, we can not be satisfied as, particularly recently, we were not able to make more significant progress in, for example, the coordination of efforts to assert candidacies for headquarters of European international institutions and individual positions within the institutions, Ivan Gašparovič emphasized at the V4 Summit.

"Slovakia sees the V4 future as a dynamic regional group of EU member states and an efficient platform for consulting, coordinating and implementing the agreed steps," President Gašparovič said at the beginning of his speech.

The Slovak President presented to his counterparts Slovakia's standpoint in respect to EU enlargement. "Since the Union let us join, we should act in a consistent manner for other countries interested in European integration and able to meet the accession criteria to get the same chance," the Slovak President said in his speech.

In the opinion of the V4 Presidents, prospects of membership in the EU should be preserved, regardless of its internal institutional problems. Ivan Gašparovič, Václav Klaus, László Sólyom and Lech Kaczynski confirmed that their countries supported further enlargement of the EU. According to the Slovak President, Croatia is the best-prepared country at present and has a good chance of completing this process successfully. For this reason, "it is in the interest both of the Union and Western Balkan countries to progress with political and economic reforms as soon and as much as possible."