President Zeman in Poland to mark 30th anniversary of Visegrád Group

President Miloš Zeman has joined his counterparts from Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Visegrád Group (V4), at the residence of the Polish President by the Baltic Sea.

Presidents Zeman, Andrzej Duda, János Áder and Zuzana Čaputová have been meeting since Tuesday to celebrate the anniversary and discuss issues of common concern, including the coronavirus pandemic and energy security. The event concludes on Wednesday evening.

The Polish head of state, Andrzej Duda, whose country holds the rotating V4 presidency, said the group is an important, if not a key, engine of regional cooperation in Central Europe and contributes significantly to political cooperation vis-à-vis the European Union and NATO

For his part, Zeman, for whom this is the first trip abroad for over a year, spoke of the solidarity and friendship that bind the four countries, drawing attention to his siding with Poland and Hungary when targeted by what he called “unfounded attacks," said his spokesperson. Among other things, those countries have come under fire from the European Commission on issues relating to the rule of law and migration policy.