Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (an SaS nominee) doesn't support Slovakia's exit from the Visegrad Group (V4 - Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary), but he also doesn't want the group to profile itself as a political bloc within the European Union (EU), as he doesn't see this as a good idea. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the V4's founding on Monday, he stressed that Slovakia, like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, has been using this grouping to assert its interests and strengthen its national positions. The chief of Slovak diplomacy warned that if the V4 profiles itself as a political bloc within the EU over the long term, other states within regional groupings, such as Benelux, the Baltic States, or southern or northern European countries might also start thinking like this. "If everyone in the EU did so, things would look completely different in the Union, and I have serious doubts whether this is what we want," said Korčok.
He mentioned several areas in which V4-member states have differing views, such as on the North Stream 2 pipeline, or in their attitude towards Ukraine, a country Budapest openly criticises and is blocking when it comes to NATO. "Diametrically opposed positions on defence cooperation with the USA have been living side by side in the V4. Poland wants to have US bases at home. It's even willing to pay for them, while the defence agreement with the USA has been made out to be the biggest threat to our state sovereignty, although nobody in Slovakia minds that our Hungarian neighbours have signed such an agreement without any problems," stated the minister .
Slovakia must preserve its co-operation within the Visegrad Four (V4: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) group, as having Slovakia exclude itself from it would be short-sighted and irresponsible, the non-parliamentary Voice-SD party declared on the occasion of the group's 30th anniversary. Party chair and former PM Peter Pellegrini stated on Monday that Slovakia should recall the indispensable and instrumental role played by Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in helping to drop anchor in the EU and NATO.
