Premier: V4 Countries Will Focus on Competitiveness and Energy Prices

Brussels, 18 June (TASR-correspondent) - A brief coordination meeting of the premiers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), held at the start of the June EU summit in Brussels, was short but factual and focused on issues of competitiveness and energy, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated following the meeting on Thursday. In a video message recorded shortly after the V4 leaders' meeting, Fico stated that the discussions lasted only a few minutes but were "extremely important" and confirmed that there is "a strong interest in reviving this format to the greatest extent possible". "We agreed that the meeting in Budapest will also be as factual as possible. And it's good that we've already discussed our shared priorities today. It's primarily a matter of competitiveness and high energy prices. We share the same view on this, so we'll act together," said the prime minister, expressing hope that if the V4 continues in this vein, the prime ministers "have done a great job" in Brussels on Thursday. Following his meeting with the premiers of neighbouring countries, Fico had scheduled talks with the leaders of EU member states united in the so-called 'Friends of Cohesion' group, which is working toward the same goal: to ensure that sufficient funds are allocated in the EU's next long-term budget for the years 2028-2034 for the cohesion policy as well as common agricultural policy. am