| 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
The closing event of parliamentary cooperation during the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group, i.e. the Informal Meeting of the Presidents and Speakers of Parliaments of the Visegrad countries and the football tournament of the V4 parliamentary teams, were organised by the Hungarian National Assembly between June 21-23, 2018 in Balatonfüred.
The official meeting of Speakers/Presidents of the Visegrád Group Parliaments took place on 2nd March 2018 in Budapest.
Budapest was the venue for the first Meeting of the Presidents and Speakers of V4 Parliaments during the Hungarian V4 Presidency. At the invitation of László Kövér...
Committee-level meetings
Representatives of the V4 Parliaments’ Defence Committees convened in Budapest on 21-22nd February 2018 under the auspices of the parliamentary dimension of the V4 Hungarian Presidency.
Representatives of the V4 Parliaments’ Agricultural Committees convened in Budapest on 14-15th February 2018.
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
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.
Discussions of the dual quality of foodstuffs in EU member states revealed that the problem affects not just the countries of the V4, but the entire region. Each member state is investigating the issue. Meeting participants agreed that no distinctions in terms of markings and no differentiation is acceptable within the European Union. They emphasised that problems stemming from the dual quality of foodstuffs affect some 100 million EU citizens, and the problem must therefore be addressed on an EU level, possibly by developing new EU regulations.
In discussions of the future of the European Union, meeting participants took stock of the global and internal challenges that member states of the EU are forced to face today. They dealt, as a priority, with regional conflicts, the economic-financial and the resulting social crisis, the mounting pressure posed by migration, and the process of disintegration initiated by Brexit. Participants therefore agreed to call for the strengthening of V4 cooperation and a united stance as far as fundamental issues are concerned.
For the agenda of the upcoming, 57th (LVII) COSAC meeting, they proposed discussions of north-south infrastructural links and the situation of cohesion policies post 2020.
Participants concluded the meeting by adopting a closing declaration.
Events
The Speaker of Parliament was accompanied on his visit to Poland by Mrs. László Csúcs, the spokesperson for the Polish nationality in Parliament, and by Ministry of Agriculture Deputy State Secretary István Lóránt Szakáli.