Oh, Visegrad Four representatives still meet, talk, pursue diplomatic tasks and cooperate in various forms but no significant event happened recently worthy to report here. On the other hand the calendar of cultural events funded by International Visegrad Fund is so exhaustive that it would deserve a separate topic. [The Fund is the only one active institution of V4 so far. It has an annual budget of EUR 5 million. It awards grants, scholarships and artist residencies]. So let's stick to V4 proper. Since you are so hungry for any news, Crow, here are few tidbits:
June 6, 2011 - Meeting of foreign ministers of V4 + Japan. The topics included:
+ Overcoming the Great East Japan Earthquake and Enhancing of Nuclear Safety
+ V4+Japan Dialogue and Cooperation: Promoting and deepening partnership
+ European Union - Japan: Strengthening bonds of friendship and cooperation
+ Reform of the United Nations Security Council
See: kormany.hu/download/8/fe/30000/v4_japan_joint_press_statement.pdf
June 7, 2011 - The conference "Visegrad Personalities" was held in Copenhagen, Denmark to pay tribute to four personalities who were involved in the process of demolishing the Iron Curtain: Gieremek, Dubcek, Dinstbier, Antall
June 10, 2011 - Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visited Poland to discuss - among other issues - bilateral cooperation in exploring and extracting natural resources. There are plans to construct Skandel gas pipe and North-South gas axis that Visegrád Group and cooperating countries are willing to open.
June 16, 2011 - Planned meeting of V4 prime ministers
Slovakian Presidency of V4 expires on June 30 and the baton will be passed on Czech Republic. This is a good time to look back and think about future directions. Yes, Balkans will be an important topics.
The prime ministers will also hold talks on V4 cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries, they will evaluate the Hungarian presidency of the EU and discuss the EU financial framework for 2014 - 2020. Other topics to be discussed are - the EU enlargement and cooperation among V4 nation's memory institutes.
vlada.gov.sk/24107/
June 16, 2011- Institute of World Policy will present a policy paper "Scenarios for the Development of the Transnistria Conflict. Challenges to European Security" in Warsaw.
The project was supported by the International Visegrad Fund and the Black Sea Trust, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. It was implemented in partnership with the leading analytical institutions from the Visegrad Group states: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.