Visegrad Four leaders meet Irish Taoiseach to demand EU budget protections and threaten vetoes on energy rules

Summit in Bratislava and energy policy warnings

The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary) convened on 10 September 2026 at Bratislava Castle alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whose government assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in July 2026. Slovakia, which also took over the V4 presidency in July 2026, hosted the discussions between Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar. High electricity costs formed the central topic of discussion, with Donald Tusk warning that Central European economies face some of the highest power prices in the world. Tusk stated that Poland and the V4 coalition will actively veto any European Union measures that threaten to inflate regional power costs, specifically naming the emissions trading systems ETS-1 and ETS-2.

Whether we are talking about ETS-1, ETS-2 or certain other proposals, everything that brings the risk of more expensive energy upon us will be blocked by us.

Industrial competitiveness and climate regulations

Donald Tusk linked power costs directly to the industrial competitiveness of the European Union on the global stage. He asserted that the European Union cannot realistically compete with the United States or China while elevated energy prices persist across member states. The Polish prime minister urged Brussels institutions to end naive approaches to ambitious climate policies that risk hurting domestic industries and households. Tusk also stressed that any expanded European financing must not place added burdens on working citizens. Instead, he urged European officials to take seriously European Parliament proposals to raise revenue by taxing cryptocurrency trading, gambling, and large corporate giants that extract money from member states.

Negotiations on the 2028-2034 European Union budget

The leaders evaluated preparations for the next European Union Multiannual Financial Framework budget covering the 2028-2034 period, presenting their collective priorities to Micheal Martin. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico insisted that cohesion funds and the Common Agricultural Policy must remain intact without cuts. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar echoed the demand for agricultural support and cohesion funding, stating that the new budget must be fair to all member states. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis pointed to healthcare as Prague's primary funding concern in the upcoming European budget negotiations. Tusk emphasized that future European Union spending plans must recognize the heavy financial and logistical efforts undertaken by frontline states to secure the external land border and provide direct assistance to Ukraine.

Revival of the Visegrad alliance and future outreach

Robert Fico announced that the regional partnership has re-established its operational strength after previous internal divisions, noting that the four sovereign governments share common European values and interests. Fico explained that Slovakia, which holds the V4 rotating presidency until mid-2027, focuses on topics that unite the group rather than issues that cause division. The Slovak host revealed plans to broaden diplomatic outreach, intending to invite German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to a subsequent V4 gathering and seeking a meeting with the French president before the close of 2026. Donald Tusk maintained that the future trajectory of the European Union will largely be shaped by decisions taken across Warsaw, Budapest, Prague, and Bratislava.

The Visegrad Group is alive again. And it is once again capable of expressing common positions and solving the problems that stand before us.