A Central European Constellation VISEGRAD GROUP CELEBRATES ITS FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY Jirˇí Paroubek
The Visegrad va Group W aa rsz a wa ha – A Central isl a t European ra Pr BB udap est International Visegrad Fund Constellation W a rsza wa ha a Pr BBratislava udap est International Visegrad Fund The Visegrad Publication Group on the Occasion of the 15th Anniversary A Central of the Visegrad Group. Edited by Andrzej Jagodziƒski European Bratislava 2006 Constellation BRATISLAVA BUDAPEST PRAGUE WARSAW of Visegrad 15 Years The Visegrad Group – A Central European Constellation 13 15 Years of Visegrad VISEGRAD GROUP CELEBRATES ITS FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY Jirˇí Paroubek After the fundamental changes in Central Europe at the end of 1989, it was necessary to move swiftly to get rid of the consequences of totalitarianism, to arrange the withdrawal of Soviet troops, and to quickly prepare the countries of Central Europe for membership in European and trans-Atlantic structures. One of the useful means of achieving these goals was the creation of a common platform represented by the Visegrad Group. During the initial phase of its existence, from 1991 to 1993 – when Czechoslovakia still existed – the Visegrad Group played an important role in our communications with NATO and the European Union. The process of expanding both institutions was both time-consuming and complex. It also contributed to the creation of qualitatively new bilateral relations between the countries in the Group. The ability of the Visegrad countries to cooperate and coordinate their approaches impressed the democratic countries of Western Europe. After the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia from the former Czechoslovakia in 1993, when the Visegrad Three became the Visegrad Four, however, that cooperation began to flag.
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