On Saturday, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger celebrated the 30th anniversary of Slovak independence with his Visegrád Group counterparts in the new Slovak National Theater in Bratislava.
The prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, and Czechia — Mateusz Morawiecki, Viktor Orbán, and Petr Fiala — along with their spouses were invited to the ceremonious evening in the Slovak capital.
Pictures on social media showed the guests enjoying the event, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki thanking Heger for the invitation and posting a photo “with his beloved wife.”
In recent months, the Visegrád Group has been struggling to function as a unit, with Hungary deviating from the policy pursued by other members regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hungary is the only EU member state to reject sanctions against Russia and insist on a stance of neutrality regarding the conflict. Orbán’s administration prohibited deliveries of weapons to Ukraine through its territory and has been reluctant to pass the multi-billion EU aid package for Kyiv.
Hungary is experiencing its worst economic crisis in some time after the European Commission withheld a sizeable chunk of funding because of its alleged “inadequate rule of law.” Much in the future months will depend on the EU’s decision to pay Hungary what it is owed from the bloc’s development fund, a situation Poland also finds itself in.
A photo posted on the official social media accounts of the Hungarian prime minister, where Mateusz Morawiecki and Viktor Orbán can be seen smiling at each other, could be a sign of improving relations between the two countries — and indicate future agreements on further cooperation in both the EU and the Visegrád Group.
