DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2023.2.39783

Abstract: The subject of the study is the historical conditions in which the disloyal attitude of the Visegrad Group towards the solutions proposed by the EU began to grow during the specified period of time. The analysis of the migration crisis, which has aggravated political, economic, financial, social, and religious problems in the EU countries, is carried out. The EU's efforts to overcome it have become the basis for strengthening the role of right-wing parties in the Quartet. The role of Hungary, which represents itself as a defender of "Europe as a continent for Europeans", which has pursued the most active restrictive migration policy, is considered. The plans of the leadership of Germany and Austria for the management of migration flows, reflecting the ambitions of Berlin and Vienna for the transit and reception of refugees, are presented. The "central" line of Brussels on overcoming the migration crisis is being studied. The tools used by V4 to overcome the migration crisis caused by the vulnerability of the Quartet countries to refugee flows are considered. The article also examines criticism from the "quartet" of the process of overcoming the migration crisis, which saw in the measures proposed by Brussels a threat to the national identity of its small states and a sign of disrespect for the interests of small states in the EU.     In general, the migration crisis has resulted in the strengthening of far-right parties in Hungary and Poland, the radicalization of public opinion, which contradicts the main goals of European integration. Thus, the internal political development in some countries of the "Visegrad Four" has actually become a new noticeable element of confrontation with the European Union. Hungary and Poland reacted extremely painfully to criticism of the EU, appealing for support to partners in the Visegrad Group, to other countries where right-wing and conservative parties are also popular (Italy, Austria). As a counteraction, the EU leadership raised the issue of a threat to EU values in Poland and Hungary and considered the possibility of using a mechanism to influence countries that do not respect the values of the European Union.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2022.11.39246

Abstract: The subject of the study is the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on foreign and defense policy V4. The statements and actions of the Visegrad Group on the Ukrainian issue, which were ahead of the European Union's activity in their efficiency, are being investigated. However, the consolidation of the "quartet" countries has already been seriously tested in the first months and even weeks of the crisis, which will subsequently allow us to talk about the existence of a significant split between the participants. In addition, V4's activities regarding the Ukrainian crisis were mostly in the nature of a reaction to the events taking place, which did not offer any constructive strategies for resolving the process. The novelty of the scientific research in the framework of this article is expressed in the analysis of normative legal acts, statements of the Visegrad Group, demonstrating the different degree of response of V4 to various stages of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as the change in approaches to the defense policy of the "quartet" countries in the specified period of time. Also, the previously unexplored Action Plan of the Visegrad Group Defense Cooperation will be presented in the 2020 edition, which will indicate a wide range of challenges and threats, some of which do not directly relate to the security of the "quartet" countries, which indicates the actual disappearance of a purely regional component in the defense policy of the Visegrad Group.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2021.4.36045

Abstract: The subject of this research is the historical conditions for the creation of Visegrád Group – subregional organization of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The collapse of the system of pro-communist regimes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe allowed the local dissident circles to create the “ideological” framework for subregional organization, which is based on the idea of the Central European identity. In the late 1980s, the idea of subregional cooperation in the socialist camp won support of a number of Western European countries. However, the initiative on the development regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe was taken over by the United States. The United States prompted the decision of the G7 member-states on the transfer of the European Commission a coordinating role in assisting Poland and Hungary as the flagships for conducting political and economic liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe. The novelty of this research consists in the analysis of attempts of subregional cooperation outside the framework of the European Economic Community in the late 1980s. Attention is also given to the previously unstudied criticism of the process of accession of the countries of Visegrád Group to the European Economic Community. Critical assessments substantiated by ineffectiveness of the programs of assisting the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as by posing threats to the stability of the European Economic Community member-states due to inclusion of the former socialist countries into the united Europe. The main conclusion lies in the statement that the collapse of the socialist camp at the turn of the 1980s – 1990s actualized the pursuit of identity in the new world by the Central and Eastern European countries. The oath of European integration was selected as a universal method for solution of this problem. However, regional cooperation remained a relevant question, since rapprochement with the Western Europe alone could not eliminate all the contradictions between the countries. The cooperation between Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia became the most successful example of such cooperation and served as the prototype for creation of other subregional structures.