Visegrád Co-Operation After Entering the European Union

Abstract

The general aim of this article is to introduce and discuss the effect of Visegrád co-operation as one of possible grounds for developing international relations in Central Europe. On the 1st of May 2004 Visegrád 4 ("V 4") countries entered the European Union and became a part of a newly formed Europe. As this was declared as one of the chief goals of the collaboration, after its achievement it is necessary to ask if it is still useful to remain in the V 4 co-operation. The postulate that will be debated is: yes, we should continue in building up the Visegrád co-operation. After a short historical introduction and presentation of the contents of the basic V 4 documents, we are suggesting some arguments for the maintenance of the Visegrád co-operation and try to think about the future of Europe.

Keywords: Visegrád, European Union, regional co-operation

JEL Classification: D60, D72, D73, D74, D78, E50, E60