The Czech Republic and Slovakia will resume intergovernmental consultations, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico announced on Thursday after a joint meeting in Bratislava, signaling a reversal of the freeze imposed by Prague’s previous government.
According to Babiš, the next joint meeting of the two governments is scheduled for March 31 and will take place in the Czech Republic. The consultations had been suspended the year before last by the cabinet of former Czech prime minister Petr Fiala, who cited differing views between Prague and Bratislava on key foreign policy issues such as Ukraine.
“I am ready and very much looking forward to continuing our cooperation as in the past. Slovakia is a priority for us. We will resume the joint meeting of our governments,” Babiš said at a joint press conference with Fico.
Moje první oficiální zahraniční cesta. Právě jsem dorazil na Slovensko 🇨🇿🤝🇸🇰 pic.twitter.com/v66EtJk2Um
— Andrej Babiš (@AndrejBabis) January 8, 2026The Bratislava meeting was Babiš’s first official foreign visit since returning to office in December. During the talks, Fico proposed signing a memorandum with the Czech Republic aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation.
Energy policy featured prominently in the discussions, according to Echo24. Babiš pledged Czech assistance to Slovakia in securing natural gas supplies as the European Union moves to gradually end imports of Russian gas. Fico said the Czech Republic would be an important transit country for gas deliveries to Slovakia once Russian supplies are terminated.
“We are ready, and we will be happy to help,” Babiš said on the issue.
Both prime ministers agreed that persistently high energy prices need to be addressed at the European Union level. Fico identified the temporary non-application of emission allowances as one possible measure, arguing that they significantly increase energy costs.
Beyond energy, Babiš said he intends to draw inspiration from Slovakia’s state-supported rental housing system. He also voiced support for reviving cooperation within the Visegrad Four group of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, while noting the continuing tensions between Warsaw and Budapest.
“At today’s meeting, the prime minister and I agreed to continue with joint government negotiations. The agreement also stipulates that the next meeting will take place in the Czech Republic,” Fico said, as cited by TASR.
The Slovak leader also announced plans to convene a meeting in Slovakia with Babiš and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker under the Austerlitz Format, which brings together Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and which Slovakia currently chairs.
Looking ahead, Fico stressed that Slovakia would seek to reinvigorate the Visegrad Four when it assumes the group’s rotating presidency after July 1. “We’ll be extremely active and will do our best to ensure that the V4 regains the strength that it used to have in the past, a strength that lay in the ability of the four EU member states to independently form positions and opinions that were able to influence internal life of Brussels,” he said.
Both noted that the future direction of the V4 would also be shaped by Hungary’s parliamentary election scheduled for April.
