International Visegrad Fund

The International Visegrad Fund is the only institution of Visegrad cooperation. Its main purpose is to promote the development of closer cooperation among the Visegrad Group (V4) countries by supporting grant projects in the fields of common cultural, scientific and educational projects, youth exchanges, cross-border cooperation and tourism promotion, and by awarding scholarships and artist residencies.


Establishment of the Fund

The Governments of the Visegrad Group countries (the Czech Republic, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak Republic), guided by the provisions of the Visegrad Joint Statement signed on 14 May 1999 in Bratislava, agreed to establish the International Visegrad Fund with its seat in Bratislava on 9 June 2000.

The governing bodies of the Fund are the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Ambassadors. The executive body of the Fund are Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director. The administrative body of the Fund is the Secretariat. The chairmanship rotates among V4 countries in alphabetical order. The official language of the Fund is English.

The International Visegrad Fund manages its resources according to the budget approved by the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of V4 countries. The budget consists of two parts: project funding activities and the operational costs of the Fund's Secretariat.


Conference of Ministers

The Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, which consists of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group countries, is the supreme body of the Fund. The Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs shall determine the amounts of annual contributions and their due dates for every Member State, approves the rules of procedure of the Secretariat, and approves the budget of the Fund, those are annual statements and clearance of budget presented by the Council of Ambassadors.

The Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs designates from among its members its President. This presidency is rotating in the English alphabetical order of the names of the Member States. The Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs adopts resolutions unanimously and meets at least once a year in order to estimate the implementation of the tasks set forth in the present Statute.

For more information please visit the websites of the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs or the website of the Fund:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic


Council of Ambassadors

The Council of Ambassadors consists of Ambassadors or Chargé d' Affaires a.i. of the Member States of the Visegrad Group accredited to the head of the State whose plenipotentiary currently holds the presidency of the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The Council prepares programs for the session of the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and reports on the implementation of the Fund's activities in the preceding year. The Council of Ambassadors drafts programs and documents for the sessions of the Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and meets at least once every six months to discuss whatever is necessary for the implementation of the objectives. The Council has to approve selected projects for financing and implementation.


Project Statistics (as of 1 January 2009):

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GRANTS (SMALL/STANDARD/STRATEGIC GRANTS)
Applications	236	469	475	639	645	712	866	996	*900
Awarded Grants	26	89	144	203	272	301	347	406	398
Approved  (mil. EUR)	0.41	1.52	1.92	2.08	2.09	2.38	2.50	2.86	3.14
VISEGRAD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Applications	N/A	N/A	N/A	61	100	241	182	260	*302
No. of Scholarships	N/A	N/A	N/A	27	35	80	68	171	176
Approved (thousands EUR)	N/A	N/A	N/A	246	260	538.5	459.5	1,116.5	1,295.5
VISEGRAD ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM (VARP)
Applications	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	**29/61	*52
Awarded VARP	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	**21/24	24
Approved (thousands EUR)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	**94.5/ /108	108
VISEGRAD UNIVERSITY STUDIES GRANTS (VUSG)
Applications	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	33
Awarded VUSG	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	12
Approved (thousands EUR)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	285