Editing Visegrád Group (section)

==Neighbour relations==
{{See also|Schengen Area}}

===European Union===
All members of the V4 have been [[Member state of the European Union|member states of the European Union]] since the EU's [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|enlargement in 2004]], and members of the [[Schengen Area]] since 2007.

====Austria====
[[File:Austerlitz-Format.svg|300px|thumb|The countries participating in the Austerlitz format. From north to south: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria.]]
[[Austria]] is the Visegrád Group's southwestern neighbor. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria launched the [[Slavkov Declaration|Slavkov format]] for the three countries in early 2015. The first meeting in this format took place on 29 January 2015 in [[Slavkov u Brna]] (Austerlitz) in the Czech Republic. Petr Drulák, the deputy foreign minister of the Czech Republic, emphasized that the Austerlitz format was not a competitor, but an addition to the Visegrád group, after proposals to enlarge the V4 with Austria and [[Slovenia]] were rejected by [[Hungary]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://derstandard.at/2000015574633/Oesterreich-Tschechien-Slowakei-Gemeinsame-Politik-im-Austerlitz-Format |title=Österreich, Tschechien, Slowakei: Gemeinsame Politik im Austerlitz-Format |last=Schubert |first=Gerald |date=11 April 2015 |newspaper=Der Standard|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 2014 |title=Expanding Visegrád Group not on the agenda |url=http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/news/expanding-visegrad-group-not-on-the-agenda |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214154/http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/news/expanding-visegrad-group-not-on-the-agenda |archive-date=8 April 2014 |website=www.kormany.hu}}</ref>

The leadership of the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], the junior partner in the [[First Kurz government|former Austrian coalition government]], has expressed its willingness to closely cooperate with the Visegrád Group.<ref>Stephan Löwenstein. [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/fpoe-will-oesterreich-in-die-visegrad-gruppe-bringen-15245016.html Zwischen Wien und Budapest]. ''[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' Published on 15 October 2017.</ref> Former Chancellor and leader of the [[Austrian People's Party]] [[Sebastian Kurz]] wanted to act as a bridge builder between the east and the west.<ref name="NewEurope">{{cite news|last1=Alexe|first1=Dan|title=Kurz and Orban want to clip Brussels' power, but Austria will not join Visegrad Four|url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/kurz-and-orban-want-to-limit-the-security-competences-of-brussels-but-austria-will-not-join-visegrad-group/|access-date=2 February 2018|work=New Europe|date=1 February 2018|archive-date=1 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201040412/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/kurz-and-orban-want-to-limit-the-security-competences-of-brussels-but-austria-will-not-join-visegrad-group/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Germany====
[[Germany]], the Visegrád Group's western neighbour, is a key economic partner of the group and vice versa. As of 2018, Germany's trade and investment flows with the V4 are greater than with China.<ref>"[https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/06/14/germanys-troubled-relations-with-the-visegrad-states-show-the-limits-to-its-power Germany's troubled relations with the Visegrad states show the limits to its power]". ''[[The Economist]]''. 14 June 2018.</ref>

====Romania====
On 24 April 2015, [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]] and [[Serbia]] established the [[Craiova Group]]. The idea came from [[Victor Ponta]], the then [[Romanian Prime Minister]], who said he was inspired by the Visegrád Group.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/168120/Bulgaria,+Romania,+Serbia+Establish+Craiova+Group+for+Cooperation|title=Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia Establish Craiova Group for Cooperation|newspaper=[[Novinite]]|date=24 April 2015}}</ref> [[Greece]] joined the group in October 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://cep.org.rs/en/blogs/craiova-group-too-late-or-better-late-than-never/|title=Craiova Group – too late or better late than never?|first=Venelin|last=Bochev|newspaper=[[European Policy Centre]]|date=6 December 2018|access-date=7 September 2020|archive-date=9 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009084449/https://cep.org.rs/en/blogs/craiova-group-too-late-or-better-late-than-never/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Romania has been invited to participate in the Visegrád Group on previous occasions. However, several incidents, such as the [[Ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș|Black March ethnic clashes]], made this impossible.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

===Non-EU===
Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia border [[Ukraine]] on their east. Poland additionally borders [[Belarus]] and [[Russia]]'s [[Kaliningrad Oblast]] to the northeast. The Czech Republic is fully surrounded by other EU members. Hungary borders Serbia, a [[Accession of Serbia to the European Union|candidate for EU accession]], in the south.

====Ukraine====
{{See also|Accession of Ukraine to the European Union|Ukraine–European Union relations}}
[[Ukraine]], an eastern neighbour of the V4 that is not a member of the EU, is one of largest recipients of the International Visegrád Fund support and receives assistance from the Visegrád Group for its aspirations to [[European integration]].<ref>Claudia Patricolo. [https://emerging-europe.com/in-brief/ukraine-looks-to-revive-v4-membership-hopes-as-slovakia-takes-over-presidency/ Ukraine looks to revive V4 membership hopes as Slovakia takes over presidency]. emerging-europe.com. 29 July 2018.</ref> Ukraine joined the [[Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area]] with the EU and therefore with the V4 in 2016.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34842246 EU-Ukraine free trade 'set for 2016' – President Poroshenko]. [[BBC News]]. 17 November 2015.</ref>

The [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] has led to tensions within the Visegrád Group with Hungary under Viktor Orban, opposed to harsher sanctions against Russia, while the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland strongly supporting Ukraine.<ref name=Lopatka>{{cite news |last=Lopatka |first=Jan |date=24 November 2022 |title=Czechs, Poles criticise Hungary's Orban amid divisions over Ukraine war |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-easteurope-idAFL1N32K160 |work=Reuters |location=Prague |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Zalan |first=Eszter |date=9 May 2022 |title='Visegrád will survive', but as a fractured alliance |url=https://euobserver.com/ukraine/154898 |work=EUobserver |location=Brussels |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref> In November 2022, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated, “This is not the best of times for the (Visegrád) format, and Hungary's different attitudes are significantly influencing and complicating the situation.”<ref name=Lopatka/>