The head of each Visegrad Four parliament gathered in Prague for a joint meeting on Nov. 17, which focused on the fall of communism in 1989 and subsequent development in the Central European region.
Commenting on the post-communist era, the speaker of the Slovak parliament, Andrej Danko, said that the nations of the Visegrad Group countries must no longer be driven by any ideology. However, Danko stressed it is necessary to remember the time of the communist rule.
“We must not allow any ideology to rule our nations. We must maintain the principle of common sense,” he said.
Danko also agreed that V4 countries should join forces and approach European issues together, saying, “Let us agree that there is no other way than sticking together.”
The head of the Hungarian parliament, László Köver, then stressed that V4 countries have to cooperate despite ideological differences. Köver added that the V4 region is the engine of European growth. According to him, especially given the favorable geopolitical position of these countries, it is necessary to maintain cooperation and control the growth pace.
Köver also criticized EU complaints regarding systemic changes in Poland and Hungary, calling them a “witch hunt”.
“We seek common grounds, not disputes,” he said.
In his speech, the head of the Czech parliament, Radek Vondráček, stated that given the V4 states’ historical experience with totalitarianism, these countries should not be afraid to assert their opinions within the EU.
“Everyone should have the right to think what they think, and no one should tell us otherwise,” he added.
Elisbieta Witek, marshal of the Polish Sejm, then agreed that no one understands the need for freedom more than the countries that had to fight for it not so long ago.
“We have shared goals and the will to maintain them,” said Witek about the future of the V4.
