Péter Magyar quotes Donald Tusk: 'The V4 is back'

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar opened a joint press conference at the Grassalkovich Palace in Gödöllő by quoting his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, who had declared "the V4 is back" in Brussels. Magyar had held talks there with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.Magyar recalled that the Visegrád Four was founded 35 years ago — an anniversary the group is now marking. "Thirty-five years ago it was recognised that more unites our countries than divides them, and that it is easier to achieve success together," he said. All four countries — Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia — are committed to deepening their cooperation, he added, with the aim of building a V4 that delivers tangible results and speaks with a strong voice in EU decision-making."Today Central Europe is one of the most dynamically developing regions of the Union," Magyar said. The four leaders also discussed the EU's next seven-year budget, agreeing on the importance of cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy. Magyar also presented a proposal for a high-speed rail link connecting Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava and Budapest.Cultural and civic cooperation within the Visegrád framework was also on the agenda. Magyar thanked Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for outlining Slovakia's V4 presidency programme, which all four sides expressed support for. The leaders agreed to resume coordination ahead of EU summits "so that we can represent Central Europe together" in Brussels and beyond. "The heart of Europe today beats in Central Europe," Magyar said. "Hungary is glad to be returning to V4 cooperation, and our partners can always count on us."Fico: migration and competitiveness top Slovakia's V4 presidency agendaRobert Fico opened his remarks by thanking his hosts before setting out the priorities of Slovakia's V4 presidency. "The Slovak presidency comes at a time of hardship and difficulty," he said, arguing the group must respond to serious challenges facing EU member states. He noted that the V4 countries collectively represent 65 million citizens.Fico identified illegal migration as one of the V4's key pressure points and a priority for Slovakia's presidency, pointing to the group's past coordination on the issue as a success. He also called for V4 countries to align positions ahead of European Council meetings.He outlined four core pillars of the Slovak presidency. The first is strengthening competitiveness, which he said should be reflected in the EU's next budget — and he pushed back against framing cohesion and competitiveness as competing priorities. On energy, Fico cited Mario Draghi's report, which identified high energy costs as the EU's principal economic problem, and called for electricity prices to be lowered across the bloc. He used Slovakia's aluminium industry as a cautionary tale: ambitious climate targets had forced a ramp-up in domestic production, but the plant could not withstand high energy prices, and imports from China — where pollution levels are higher — have since filled the gap. "There was more hand-wringing than substance" in recent European Council debates on China, he said.Babiš: 'These four countries are Europe's future'Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš expressed confidence in the group's prospects. "I am certain we will cooperate perfectly — there is real chemistry between us," he said, also thanking his hosts for a notepad he received during the talks. "These four countries are Europe's future," he added. Babiš echoed Fico in flagging energy prices, carbon quotas and the EU's financial framework as the most pressing issues, and said the leaders had also touched on the agenda for the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara. He closed by welcoming the revival of previous coordination formats: "Once again we are all in the same boat."Tusk: 'The V4 will be a power too'Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the key to the group's influence lay in solidarity. "If we always remember that what binds us together is stronger than what divides us, then Europe will start listening to us," he said, adding that Magyar's energy could be one of the catalysts for this renewal.Tusk recalled that when the V4 had acted in solidarity in the past, it had offered a guiding example to countries at odds with the EU or with larger member states such as Germany and France. "The V4 will be one of the greatest powers too," he argued, if the group returned to mutual loyalty. He said just one hour had been enough to define the outlines of Slovakia's presidency agenda — before drawing a light jab at Babiš, quipping that the Czech prime minister's communication style owed something to Donald Trump's playbook."Thank you for bringing back hope," Tusk said. While the V4 countries do not agree on everything and differences have always existed, he described the partnership as fundamentally loyal — one that has, on many occasions, been able to shape, and even dictate, EU decisions.