GLOBSEC: V4 Foreign Minister discuss pandemic and future of EU

Foreign Affairs ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4 group: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) at the GLOBSEC 2021 Bratislava Forum on Wednesday underlined responsibility and the hard work put into the development of the EU in recent years. Also discussed was the approach of the EU and individual member states during the COVID-19 crisis. Chief of Slovak diplomacy Ivan Korčok believes that EU membership has brought Slovakia a "new responsibility, which begets positive changes" and has opened the door for economic growth. He noted, however, that it was beyond Slovakia's power to forecast a "decade of crisis" when it joined the union. Head of Czech diplomacy Jakub Kulhánek called the COVID-19 pandemic a wake-up call. He believes that the member states have woken up to the fact that the EU is not prepared to address a health crisis of such magnitude.