Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 12/5/2007
Policies of Visegrad Countries Towards CFSP/ESDP
2007
Institute of International Relations Prague
Abstract
The European Union is dramatically changing its external shape with the enlargement project that is likely to bring in a dozen new countries. Although the candidate states are very diverse, there is a special group of Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).1 Three of them are already full NATO members. These countries are thus in a special position to contribute towards EU activities in the CFSP/ESDP area and influence its direction. The Visegrad group as a form of sub-regional cooperation shares so far a number of interests. Regional cooperation in security and defence area was fostered during the last stages of preparation for NATO membership and later replicated in efforts to support Slovakia´s membership in NATO. Some of their shared interests are temporary and may disappear with the entry of the Visegrad states into the EU, while others will be more permanent and will influence their policy towards ESDP development in years to come. This paper will look at the origins and broad basis of Visegrad cooperation to assess how stable it may be in the future inside the EU. It will further compare the current policy approaches of individual Visegrad countries towards CFSP/ESDP and assess the concrete contribution made towards ESDP. Further sections will distinguish the common and divergent views of Visegrad countries based on temporary and more permanent interests. The basic scenarios of further development of Visegrad security cooperation inside the EU will be sketched out.
