The Visegrad Group

The Visegrad Group is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, all of which also belong to the European Union and NATO, covering a combined area of about 533,615 square kilometers and a population of roughly 62 million as of 2025. It was founded on February 15, 1991, at a summit in the Hungarian town of Visegrad, a location chosen to recall a 1335 congress at which Czech, Hungarian, and Polish rulers met to establish trade routes bypassing Vienna. A central goal of the alliance was achieved on May 1, 2004, when all four member states joined the European Union together. Beyond that founding aim of European integration, the group today emphasizes cultural cooperation through the International Visegrad Fund alongside expert level collaboration on infrastructure, energy, and defense matters.