Hungary will hold the Presidency of the Visegrád Group between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018, assuming the presidency from Poland. In the upcoming year, we will face a number of significant events and challenges that will demonstrate the critical importance of regional cooperation. |
Hungarian Presidency 01.07.2017 - 30.06.2018
Speaker-level meetings
Honourable Reader,
The Hungarian National Assembly's commitment to strengthening parliamentary collaboration within the Visegrád Co-Operation has been unbroken since the establishment of the co-operation in 1991. There have been regular parliamentary contacts since the meeting of the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the Visegrád Group countries in 1998, as well as discussions among Speakers of Parliaments since the meeting of the Speakers of Parliaments held in 2003, in Budapest.
Since the signing of the 2014 Budapest Joint Statement of the Speakers of Parliaments on the development of parliamentary co-operation among Visegrád countries, co-operation has continued in a more intense manner, which is a very much welcome development, and did not pause even during the Covid-19 pandemic, moving into the virtual space instead. The Speakers’ meetings which have intensified in frequency since 2014, and the regular and substantive discussions held between the various committees confirm that it is always worth deepening the dialogue. This is particularly true in the current, challenging environment. I believe that today the co-operation of V4 countries is more important than ever before. Due to historical reasons, the positions of the four countries naturally differ on certain issues, and no one questions their justified nature. However, Central Europe and the V4 countries could only succeed together when we focused on the common points that link us all together. By bringing our countries together, we can represent the region as a whole and thus shape the future of Europe together.
I am delighted that during the Hungarian V4 Presidency, which lasted from 1 July 2021 till 30 June 2022, numerous parliamentary events took place that strengthened relations between our legislatures. In order to boost the visibility of parliamentary co-operation, we reported on all events organised by us, as well as on other related events, on this website. The cross-party unity of our parliaments is duly demonstrated by the joint statements adopted by consensus at these meetings.
I am confident that parliamentary co-operation among Visegrád Group countries will be further strengthened during the next Slovak Presidency, as we need it more than ever in the current challenging environment. We will continue to provide information on parliamentary meetings on this website.
Yours sincerely,
László Kövér
Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly
Committee-level meetings
Representatives of the V4 Parliaments’ Economics Committees convened in Budapest on 7-8th February 2018.
Events
Annual Session of V4+ Parliamentary Libraries and Research Services 24-25 May 2018, Budapest
Preparation (01.07.2017 - 01.07.2016)
Speaker-level meetings
The Marshal of the Sejm of Poland Marek Kuchciński and the Marshal of the Senate of Poland Stanisław Karczewski convened a working meeting of V4 speakers of Parliament in Przemyśl on 3-4 December 2016. In addition to the hosts and Speaker Kövér, the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Andrej Danko, the President of the Czech Senate Milan Štěch and the Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Jaroslava Pokorná Jermanová also attended the meeting.
The agenda of the event included discussions concerning visions for the future of the European Union, including strengthening the roles national parliaments play, as well as practical proposals aimed at bolstering the recognition of V4 cooperation.
Committee-level meetings
The agenda of the meeting featured discussions of the impacts of the European Union, the United States and Russia, as well as the presidency of Donald Trump, on Eastern policy; European security challenges; and questions related to the southern neighbourhood, migration, terrorism, the conflict in Syria and relations with Turkey.
Ľuboš Blaha, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, hosted the European affairs committees of the V4 for a meeting in Bratislava on 21-23 May 2017. Chair Richárd Hörcsik, Vice Chairs Zoltán Tessely and Tibor Bana, along with senior advisor László Juhász, represented the European Affairs Committee of the Parliament.
The agenda of the meeting included three topics: the dual quality of foodstuffs, the future of the European Union and a discussion of the agenda items of the upcoming, 57th (LVII) COSAC (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs) meeting.