Visegrad Group

Association of the four neighbouring central European states of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. Originally the ‘Visegrad Three’, the group was formed in 1991 when Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland signed a cooperation treaty at the Hungarian town of Visegrad in the wake of their recent democratization. The treaty was extended in 1992 by a Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) which was later joined by Slovenia and, in 1997, Romania. With the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1994, the ‘Visegrad Four’ was created. The ‘Visegrad Four’ press for early membership of the European Union and have voiced concern over rising Russian nationalism.