Prime Ministers of the Visegrad countries met on 30 June 2021 in Katowice, Poland to mark the conclusion of the 2020-21 Polish Presidency of the Visegrad Group. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki officially handed over the presidency to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who presented the motto of the Hungarian Presidency motto ”V4 Recharging Europe”, and the presidency programme that lists V4 priorities for the next one-year period.

PM Orbán thanked the Polish Presidency for its work during the most difficult V4 presidency year so far due to the pandemic, noting that the V4 countries could count on each other also in fighting COVID-19.

He underlined that the Hungarian Presidency aims to contribute to the V4 countries becoming winners of the global economic changes. The region’s economic performance, including robust growth, high employment and low sovereign debt levels, gives weight to the V4 also on a political level. The Presidency motto, “Recharging Europe” also refers to the need for an intellectual restart. The V4 countries will, individually and as a group, actively participate in the debate on the future of Europe.

As presidency priorities, the Prime Minister highlighted the swift economic restart in the region, in which improving infrastructure (especially North-South links) as well as low taxes play a crucial role. Security is also a key topic; in this context the V4 continues to represent a strong stance on rejecting migration, while the global health situation is also a serious challenge. In terms of the V4’s external relations, supporting the Western Balkans’ EU integration will be especially important.

Besides the presidency handover, the four leaders discussed current issues on the European Union’s agenda, including the EU’s future, migration, climate transition and EU enlargement.

 

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