Slovakia needs a democratic Ukraine
That is also why, at the last meeting of the European Council, he supported all decisions concerning Ukraine, including the next package of anti-Russian sanctions and the continuation of Ukraine’s accession process. After the summit, he declared that Slovakia needs a stable and democratic Ukraine beyond its eastern border.
One can only agree with that. At the same time, this statement reveals the biggest paradox of the policy of his fourth government so far. Ukraine can be such a neighbor only if it defends its state independence from the aggression of the Russian Federation and does not become part of its sphere of influence. This can only be achieved thanks to long-term political, economic, financial and military support from the European Union and its allies.
If today it really is Slovakia’s national interest to have a democratic and stable Ukraine in the eastern neighborhood, which can one day become a member of the EU, then the question arises as to why Fico’s government pursued a policy for two and a half years that made the achievement of this goal objectively difficult.
The Prime Minister’s Summit of the V4 in Hungary should also be seen in this context. The new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar managed to settle bilateral disputes with Donald Tusk’s government, which were provoked by Viktor Orbán. Together, they strive to restore trust between the members of the Vyšehrad Group and, at the same time, to restore trust in the V4 among other EU states.
The heart of Europe beats in V4
“The V4 is back,” declared Péter Magyar at a press conference after the first meeting of the heads of government of the Visegrad Four since February 2024. He added that “the heart of Europe today beats in Central Europe.” In doing so, he sent a clear signal that the V4 is not being renewed as the usual Orbán counterbalance to Brussels, but as a pragmatic coordination platform before the European Council meetings and a tool for mutual assistance in solving common regional problems.
However, this does not mean that the old conflicts have disappeared. Only the willingness to lead them in public was lost. When Robert Fico announced at a press conference that the V4 would not address the topics that divide its members, he was talking primarily about Ukraine and Russia – that is, about the issues that brought the group to the brink of disintegration.
It is remarkable that none of the partners publicly reminded him of this. He could thus present himself as one of the restorers of Vyšehrad, although he recently entered the history of Czech-Slovak relations after the division of Czechoslovakia by preferring a political alliance with the Hungarian prime minister to traditionally close cooperation with the Czech prime minister.
However, the past was not forgotten. Péter Magyar openly said that the V4 crisis was caused by the breakdown of Polish-Hungarian relations under Orbán’s government. Donald Tusk repeatedly emphasized that trust between Warsaw and Budapest had to be restored first. Between the lines, it was clear who bears the main responsibility for breaking up the closest partnership in the region until then.
Poland is not dependent on V4
The second important political message of the summit is the new power relations in Vyšehrad. Donald Tusk subtly reminded that Poland is not dependent on the V4. It has the Weimar Triangle, the Three Seas, Nordic partners and a strong position in the EU and NATO. The Visegrad Group is therefore not an existential necessity for Warsaw, but one of the possibilities that it has decided to use.
Also because in recent years there have been thoughts about the creation of a new regional cooperation on the map of the countries of the former Habsburg Monarchy without Poland, which is clearly defined against Russian imperialist policy and at the same time strives to maintain good relations with the United States.
After the elections, Péter Magyar also spoke about a broader Central European platform, including Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Romania. Finally, however, the press conference showed the agreement of the prime ministers on the need to return to the proven V4+ format, whether with partners from the EU or outside it.
At the same time, the summit demonstrated the fundamental renewal of the Polish-Hungarian alliance. It was no accident that Donald Tusk and Péter Magyar repeatedly exchanged compliments and recalled the thousand-year-old Polish-Hungarian friendship. When they quoted the famous “Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki”, it was not folklore. It was a political signal that the Warsaw-Budapest axis would dominate the V4.
Unfortunately, nothing similar was heard from either the Slovak or the Czech side about the traditional relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which are characterized by a common history, linguistic and cultural proximity, family ties and economic interdependence. Economic pragmatism and the issue of migration were particularly emphasized.
After a series of conflicts with its European partners, Slovakia found itself in a significantly lonelier position in terms of foreign policy than Hungary is in today. The renewal of the V4 and the Slovak presidency, which begins on July 1, therefore offer Robert Fico the opportunity to present himself as an active regional player.
The question remains whether he can at least partially break free from the negative reputation he has created among his partners in the member states and EU institutions with his toxic alliance with Viktor Orbán.
A mirror for his policy is the fact that the failed regime of illiberal democracy, which sought support in Trump’s MAGA movement and serving Putin, must be rebuilt by Péter Magyar today not only in order to unfreeze the Eurofunds, but above all in order for Hungary to once again become a state of law and a full-fledged democracy and break out of isolation in the EU.
The Slovak presidency of the V4 next year can provide at least a partial answer to the question of whether the Brussels summit was the beginning of a real change in the Slovak prime minister’s policy, or just a tactical adjustment after the fall of his political friend and only ally in the EU, Viktor Orbán.
