Slovakia second most vulnerable V4 country to Russian influence

Slovakia ranks as the second most vulnerable Visegrad Four (V4) country to subversive influence after Hungary in the context of Russia's efforts to bolster its political clout in the central European region, according to a document entitled Vulnerability Index: Subversive Russian Influence in Central Europe. Drafted by the Slovak GLOBSEC Policy Institute, the document aims to provide an analysis mapping the weak spots of V4 countries in terms of foreign influence. "Despite the fact that all the V4 countries linked together by their communist past joined the structures of the EU and NATO with an eye towards bolstering their position within Western civilisation, there are forces in each of these countries attempting to reverse the current course," said Daniel Milo of GLOBSEC Policy Institute. Milo pointed out that the V4 country least vulnerable to foreign subversive influence and hybrid threats is Poland, followed by the Czech Republic. On a scale of 0 (zero vulnerability) to 100 (maximum vulnerability), Slovakia received 51 points out of 100. This is attributed to a combination of factors. "These are a transactional and opportunistic approach to the EU and NATO shared to a large degree by political elites and the public, existing strong energy ties to Russia and the naiveté displayed by political elites regarding the Kremlin's geopolitical goals for central Europe," reads the text. "The evaluation stems from a summary of public opinion data, national policies, accessible intelligence services reports and interviews of 38 experts active in the region," said Milo.