The Czech Parliament, which holds the Presidency of the Visegrád Group from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, organized the meeting of the Speakers of Parliaments of the V4 countries and Ukraine in Prague on 28-29 February 2024. The event was hosted by Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, and Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Czech Senate. The Hungarian National Assembly was represented by Csaba Hende, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, the Slovak National Council by Peter Pellegrini, Speaker, while the Polish Parliament by Szymon Hołowni, Marshal of the Sejm and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Marshal of the Senate.

Two agenda items were discussed at the meeting. Firstly, they discussed in a format of V4 Speakers of Parliaments the V4 cooperation in the areas of economy, energy security and migration, followed by an exchange of views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine with the participation of Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada). During the first item on the agenda, all agreed that V4 cooperation has its justification, focusing on areas where there is agreement among the four countries. They all agreed on the importance of energy independence, the importance of protecting external borders as regards migration, and the importance of promoting staying in the countries of origin in the area of illegal migration. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum of the EU does not solve the problem of migration according to Peter Pellegrini, a view shared by Csaba Hende. The Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly informed the audience that László Kövér, Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, was the acting President of Hungary until the President-elect takes office. In his speech during the first agenda, Csaba Hende referred to the meeting of the heads of government of the V4 held on 27 February 2024, where it was clearly shown in which areas the V4 countries can adopt the same or similar positions. Among these areas he highlighted the fight against illegal migration, the avoidance of harmful EU tax harmonisation to preserve the competitiveness of our region, the protection of our energy mix and the creation of energy independence in Central Europe, as well as the prevention of the influx of low-quality grain to the EU to protect our agricultural producers and markets. He called for increased cooperation between the parliamentary committees of the V4 in these areas, which was also considered important by the Marshal of the Polish Senate. Regarding Hungary's energy independence, the Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly underlined that "production is already able to cover the current consumption in a clean and environmentally friendly way, exclusively from domestic sources". He also pointed out the importance of economic relations between the V4 countries and detailed Hungary's position on migration.

The second item was discussed with the participation of the Ukrainian Speaker. Ruslan Stefanchuk briefed the audience on the current situation on the battlefield and stressed the need to support his country in every possible way. The leaders of the Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Slovak delegations were united in their condemnation of Russia as the aggressor, in their support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders, and in the need to bring the war to an end as soon as possible. There was agreement on the diagnosis, but divergent views on how to treat this and on the best way to address this were expressed by the Czech and Polish sides and by the Hungarian and Slovak sides. In his speech, Csaba Hende spoke of Hungary's commitment to peace in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, pointing out the consistency of the Hungarian position with Pope Francis' morally based approach to war and his call for a diplomatic solution, expressed in the Holy Father’s speech on the two-year anniversary of the start of the war on 25 February. The Deputy Speaker stressed that Hungary's position is that there is no military solution to the war. In addition to this, Mr. Hende spoke of the many ways in which Hungary is helping Ukraine.

During the event, the Speakers adopted a joint statement on their common position on the topics of the meeting.

Joint Statement

Photos