Editing Visegrád Group (section)

===Contemporary history (2004–present)===
With all four Visegrad countries joining the EU in 2004, the primary goal of the group was achieved. Since then, the Visegrad Group has focused mostly on cultural cooperation through the [[Visegrad Fund]] and expert-level cooperation on topics such as infrastructure. The group became politically active and media visible during the [[2015 European migrant crisis|European Migration Crisis]] in 2015. The Visegrad countries forcefully fought against the EU quota that aimed to distribute Syrian refugees from the overwhelmed southern EU countries across the continent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=This is how the Visegrad Group works – DW – 02/07/2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/this-is-how-the-visegrad-group-works/a-47402724 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> The coherence of the group decreased with the lower salience of migration in the subsequent years.

The [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia]] in 2022 caused a rift within the group. The Hungarian government under [[Viktor Orbán]] and the Slovak government under [[Robert Fico]] rejected support for Ukraine and echoed Russian claims that the war had been provoked by [[NATO]]. On the other hand, the Czech government under [[Petr Fiala]] and the Polish government under [[Donald Tusk]] are among the strongest supporters of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jozwiak |first=Rikard |date=2024-02-28 |title=The Visegrad Group: When 2 + 2 Doesn't Equal 4 |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/visegrad-hungary-poland-czech-slovakia-disunity/32837670.html |access-date=2024-06-07 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}</ref> This rift was highlighted by the summit in Prague in 2024, where Fiala said it "wouldn't make sense that we differ in the views of the cause of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the ways of solving it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.euronews.com/2024/02/27/central-european-countries-show-deep-rifts-on-ukraine-war-at-v4-meeting|title=Central European countries show deep rifts on Ukraine war at V4 meeting|website=[[Euronews]]|agency=[[Associated Press|AP]]|date=27 February 2024|access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref> Polish Foreign Minister [[Radosław Sikorski]] also stressed that the priority for Poland (the largest country in the group) should be collaboration within the [[Weimar Triangle]] (Poland, Germany, France) and with the US, rather than with the Visegrad Four.<ref>{{cite news|last=Krzysztoszek|first=Aleksandra|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/polish-fm-close-ties-with-us-revising-weimar-triangle-key-amid-russia-threat/|title=Polish FM: close ties with US, revising Weimar Triangle key amid Russia threat|website=[[Euractiv]]|date=25 April 2024|access-date=2 June 2024}}</ref>

While some Czech politicians even called for leaving the Visegrad Four, Vít Dostál, head of the foreign policy think-tank AMO, argued that the V4 survived many governments with differing foreign policy priorities. He highlighted V4's crucial role in networking among public servants (down to the level of ministerial experts), which helps the four countries in EU negotiations - as well as networking among civil society actors.<ref name="Demokratický střed"/>