Table Of ContentInstItute of PolItIcal scIence,
slovak academy of scIences
veda, Publishing House of the slovak academy of sciences
Peer reviewed by:
Doc. PhDr. Vladimír Goněc, DrSc.
doc. Phdr. františek Škvrnda, csc.
Juraj Marušiak et al.
Internal CohesIon
of the VIsegrad grouP
Institute of Political science, slovak academy of sciences
veda, Publishing House of the slovak academy of sciences
Bratislava 2013
Coordinating institution:
Institute of Political science, slovak academy of sciences
Bratislava, slovakia
Project partners:
Czech republic
centre of International studies, faculty of International Relations,
university of economics, Prague
hungary
corvinus university of Budapest, faculty of Public administration, Budapest
Poland
Institute of Political studies, Polish academy of sciences, Warsaw
Visegrad strategic grant nr. 31110009 “Visegrad
Cooperation and the future of Central europe” Interna-
the book is a result of the
tional Visegrad fund “foreign Policy of the
supported by the
slovak republic and Perspectives of the Incorporation of the Visegrad
and the project nr. 2/0188/11
group into the regional strategy of the eu”
funded by the national Grant
agency veGa.
© Doc. PhDr. Oľga Gyárfášová, PhD.; Prof. PhDr. Svetozár Krno, CSc.; Mgr. Juraj Marušiak, PhD.;
Dr. Andor Mészáros; Prof. Dr. Franjo Štiblar; Mgr. Pavel Šuška, PhD.; Prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Veselý, CSc.;
Dr. Artur Wołek
TIsrBanns 9la7ti8o-n8s0: -©22 E4le-1n3a 2K9lá-9tiková (Chapters 1, 2 and 7)
Content
list of Illustrations ................................................................................................................. 7
Introduction (Juraj Marušiak) .......................................................................................... 10
chapter 1
Historical dimension of mutual Relationships of visegrad members
(Zdeněk Veselý) ...................................................................................................................... 15
chapter 2
Regional trajectories and Regional Policies in v4 Region: consequences
of Scalar Restructuring of Neoliberal Globalization (Pavel Šuška) .................. 35
chapter 3
Economic Legitimacy of Visegrad Group (Franjo Štiblar) .................................... 48
chapter 4
Precipices beneath summits? the visegrad cooperation seen
from Middle Policy Levels (Artur Wołek) .................................................................... 86
chapter 5
mental map of the v4 Group or How do We Perceive each other?
(Oľga Gyárfášová) ................................................................................................................... 100
chapter 6
The Visegrad Topic in University Education (Andor Mészáros) ....................... 112
Chapter 7
V4 at a Crossroad? (Svetozár Krno) ............................................................................... 117
chapter 8
visegrad Group – an unstable Periphery of the european union?
(Juraj Marušiak) ..................................................................................................................... 122
Concluding Remarks (Juraj Marušiak) ......................................................................... 160
5
Juraj Marušiak et al.: Internal Cohesion of the Visegrad Group
summary ................................................................................................................................... 162
References ................................................................................................................................. 165
authors ....................................................................................................................................... 174
Index ............................................................................................................................................ 175
6
lIst of IllustratIons
figures:
2.1 GdP per capita in the nuts II regions of v4 countries in euro
(regional performance range and value by country) ................................. 42
8.1 GDP (EU28) per capita in PPS ..............................................................................132
8.2 Gross domestic product at market prices .......................................................133
8.3 Unemployment rate – total (in % of labor force) .........................................134
8.4 Long term unemployment rate (total in % of labor force) ......................135
8.5 Youth unemployment (below 25 in %) ............................................................136
8.6 People at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in %) ...................................137
8.7 Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (in % of GDP), 2011 ......................140
8.8 Regional gross domestic product (million PPS) by NUTS2
regions (2010) ............................................................................................................141
tables:
3.1 current situation in v4 economies ...................................................................... 49
3.2 Trade matrix of V4 in 2007, in Million € ........................................................... 50
3.3 GDP per capita (GDPpc), average growth and its stability ........................ 54
3.4 Resistance to global financial crisis: extreme growth rates
in 2006-2010 ................................................................................................................ 57
3.5 Misery Index: Unemployment rate + inflation rate (in %) ........................ 59
3.6 Disequilibrium – Imbalances: (balance of payments + budget) /
GDP (in %) ..................................................................................................................... 61
3.7 Macroeconomic performance index: GDP growth –un –infl –BoP/
GDP–BoG/GDP (in % of GDP) ................................................................................ 62
3.8 Optimal size of Government (G/BDP) and economic growth,
2000-2010 ..................................................................................................................... 67
3.9 The size of Government (G/BDP) and lost growth ....................................... 69
3.10 Efficiency of government expenditure in public investment
to quality of total infrastructure ........................................................................... 71
3.11 Quality of public infrastructure (Hardware) ................................................... 72
3.12 Efficiency of government expenditure (G) on public administration
(Software) ...................................................................................................................... 74
3.13 country rankings on the role of government in the economy
2000-2010 ..................................................................................................................... 77
7
Juraj Marušiak et al.: Internal Cohesion of the Visegrad Group
3.14 Forecast for V4 Economies (in %) ....................................................................... 79
4.1 visegrad cooperation activities. Policy areas breakdown ......................... 93
7.1 Ideological preferences of the voters in V4 states (results
of the last parliamentary elections) (in %) ....................................................120
8.1 Expenditure on social protection (V4 states vs. EU) (% of GDP) ..........135
8.2 overall democracy scores ..................................................................................... 150
8.3 Corruption Perception Index (2012) – Europe and ex-USSR states ... 153
8.4 demand for Right-Wing extremism Index ..................................................... 157
Charts:
2.1 Different growth dynamics: GDP per capita growth (%)
1995/2005 ..................................................................................................................... 43
2.2 fdI share of GdP in the v4 countries ................................................................. 45
5.1 Public support for Visegrad cooperation (in %) ..........................................103
5.2 What do you think to what extent could we trust the following
nations and rely on them? mutual trust among the visegrad
countries (responses “definitely + rather trust” on
a five-point scale, in %) ...........................................................................................105
5.3 What do you think, to what extent could we trust the following
nations and rely on them – the Czech Republic (responses
“definitely + rather trust” on a five-point scale, in %) ...............................107
5.4 What do you think, to what extent could we trust following
nations and rely on them – Hungary (responses “definitely +
rather trust” on a five-point scale, in %) ..........................................................107
5.5 What do you think, to what extent could we trust following
nations and rely on them – Poland (responses “definitely +
rather trust” on a five-point scale, in %) ..........................................................108
5.6 What do you think, to what extent could we trust following nations
and rely on them – Slovakia (responses “definitely + rather trust”
on a five-point scale, in %) .....................................................................................108
8.1 did the pre-1989 political system in our countries require
changes (in %)? ..........................................................................................................124
8.2 did the pre-1989 economic system in our country require
changes (in %)? ..........................................................................................................124
8.3 from the perspective of 20 years, the building of democracy
in our country was (in %) ......................................................................................125
8.4 In comparison with the pre-1989 period, the current period has
(in %) ..............................................................................................................................125
8
list of Illustrations
8.5 Generally speaking, do you think that your country’s
membership of the European Community (Common Market)
is… Czech Republic ....................................................................................................127
8.6 Generally speaking, do you think that your country’s membership
of the European Community (Common Market) is… Hungary ..............127
8.7 Generally speaking, do you think that your country’s membership
of the European Community (Common Market) is… Poland ..................128
8.8 Generally speaking, do you think that your country’s membership
of the European Community (Common Market) is… Slovakia ...............128
8.9 GDP Growth Annual (1989 – 2012; in %) .......................................................130
8.10 GDP per capita in PPS (EU28 = 100) .................................................................131
8.11. Total unemployment rate (in % of total labor force) .................................134
8.12 Expenditure on social protection (% of GDP) ...............................................138
8.13 Expenditure on social protection in V4 2000-2010 (% of GDP) ...........139
8.14 Public expenditure on education (% of GDP) ................................................139
8.15 taking everything into consideration, would you say that
(your country) has on balance benefited or not from being
a member of the European Community (Common Market)? .................142
8.16 West responsible for the crisis .............................................................................147
8.17 Support both for democracy and market economy (in %) ......................155
8.18 People satisfied with their own life (in %) .....................................................156
9
IntroduCtIon
after more than two decades of the visegrad cooperation, which was
launched in 1991, it seems now that it is experiencing its golden era, even the
best in its history. visegrad cooperation is very often appreciated by the re-
gional politicians. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in one of his first speeches
after his re-election in 2012 emphasized the role of the Visegrad Group (V4),
which, according to his words “already became trademark known in Europe,
North Atlantic and beyond“. He put stress on the role of V4 as a security actor in
the region and in the framework of nato and the eu after the decision on the
formation of the eu visegrad Battle group. However, he pointed out the role of
visegrad as a successful and worth following example of regional cooperation
and encouraged the EU candidate countries to join the EU “not just individu-
ally, but also together in a regional framework, just like we did in the visegrad
Group” (Fico 2012). The Manifesto of the new Government of the Slovak Repub-
lic has mentioned the role of the visegrad Group mainly in the context of the eu
1
policy as well .
Polish minister of foreign affairs Radoslaw sikorski, who used to avoid pro-
nouncing the statements related to the Visegrad cooperation in July 2012 in
Budapest stressed the potential of the Group. He also mentioned the relatively
low amount of the public debt compared to the usa and the eu average. He de-
scribed the economic success of v4, above all the role of the Group in the foreign
trade of the biggest eu members. He pointed out the trade exchange with Ger-
many which is bigger than the Germany’s volume of trade with france and even
three times bigger than the volume of trade with the Russian federation. He
also mentioned as a “trade mark” of V4 the successful economic reforms, as well
as the military potential of the Group. He underlined mostly the role of v4 in
the EU. However, he stressed also that “the Central European space represented
by the four visegrad Group countries is no longer the object of wider decisions
taken by others. We are instead a credible voice that takes decisions that affect
us and the continent as whole” (Sikorski 2012).
Manifesto of the Government of the Slovak Republic
1
(Bratislava: Government Office of the Slo-
vak Republic), May 2012, available at: http://www.vlada.gov.sk/manifesto-of-the-govern-
ment-of-the-slovak-republic/
10
