The presidents of the parliaments of the countries of the Visegrad Group met in Prague’s Liechtenstein Palace. The parliamentary summit of the V4 and Ukraine was opened by the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, who is organizing this event this year. Among other things, the speakers agreed on the need to promote the basic principles of human rights, emphasized the importance of getting rid of energy dependence on Russia, and strongly condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“I am very glad that we have agreed that the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, will be an important guest at our meeting. This is proof that we all care about the fate of Ukraine and that we support its fight against the Russian aggressor. It is essential that we give space to the representatives of Ukraine to describe to us personally what is happening in this country. On the contrary, we did not fully agree on what it means to stand behind Ukraine. Whether it is about humanitarian support, support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, refugees, or military support. But I believe that our negotiations will continue. At the same time, we agreed that we are all aware of the danger of dependence on totalitarian regimes, especially on raw material resources,” said Senate President Miloš Vystrčil at the beginning of the meeting.
In the final statement, the presidents of the parliaments of the countries of the Visegrad Group agreed, for example, that the Visegrad Group is an important platform for consultation and coordination between the countries of Central Europe. According to them, there is also a fundamental need to promote basic human rights, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. And they further emphasized the importance of getting rid of energy dependence on Russia, modernizing the energy infrastructure, and strongly condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“Two years after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, we are at a critical moment. The security of Ukraine is inseparable from the security of Central Europe. Therefore, we cannot allow Russia to win in Ukraine. The Kremlin perceives not only Ukraine but the entire West as its strategic enemy. And if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, Putin’s military machine will not be stopped but will be encouraged to expand further. Therefore, our sustained and strong support for a defiant Ukraine must continue in all areas, including military, financial, and political. This year will be absolutely crucial for future development,” emphasized the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéty Pekarová Adamová
The Speaker of the Sejm of Poland Szymon Hołownia, Speaker of the Polish Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary Csaba Hende and Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini also took part in the parliamentary summit. In addition, this year’s format was expanded to include representatives of Ukraine, so the chairman of the National Council of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, also took part in the meeting.
The proceedings of the V4 parliamentary summit in Prague were divided into two thematic blocks. The first block was devoted to energy security and the issue of migration. The second block discussed Russian aggression in Ukraine. It was in this block that Ruslan Stefančuk joined the negotiations.
“At today’s joint meeting, I expressed my gratitude to President Stefančuk for not only defending his own country with his fighting efforts, but also buying us time to strengthen our own defense and deterrence capabilities with our alliance allies, especially on NATO’s Eastern flank,” added the Speaker of the House Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
Before today’s summit, the presidents of the parliaments of the V4 countries and Ukraine already met for a working dinner, which was organized by Senate President Miloš Vystrčil on the floor of the upper parliamentary chamber on Wednesday evening.