Parliamentary leaders from the Visegrad Four countries have signed a joint declaration in Bratislava calling for European Union policies that better reflect the economic interests of Central Europe. Following Thursday's meeting at Bratislava Castle, Slovak Parliamentary Speaker Richard Raši said the document calls for postponing the EU's ETS2 emissions trading system beyond 2030, supporting nuclear energy and the automotive industry, and ensuring fairer access to European funding.
However, Czech and Polish representatives also stressed the importance of European security and continued support for Ukraine, with Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil expressing regret that these issues were not explicitly included in the declaration. Hungarian parliamentary representative Ágnes Forsthoffer confirmed that participants recognised Russia as the aggressor in the war against Ukraine. The talks continue on Friday in an expanded format involving representatives from 17 countries, focusing on the EU's long-term budget for 2028 to 2034.
Source: TASR
