Hungary’s foreign minister has said that the Visegrad Group (V4) is "stronger and more effective than ever before".
Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that the V4, consisting of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, “have a much more powerful and far-reaching voice” together than they would on their own.
The minister said that when it comes to the EU's decision-making process, the collective will of the four countries is now a factor that even western European countries must take into account.
Minister Szijjártó also said that a number of central European countries have expressed interest in joining the alliance or partnering with it. However, the V4 have decided that they would not expand the alliance, as having more countries could dampen the group’s effectiveness, he said.
The minister added that the group would maintain its V4 plus scheme aimed at establishing strong cooperation with other countries under Hungary’s presidency, too. As part of the scheme, V4 leaders recently held talks with Egypt’s president and the group will hold talks with Israel later this month.