Germany and the V4: A Superficial Relationship?
When the Visegrad Four celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and Angela Merkel participated in the celebrations, it was almost like a fairy tale. Not only did the V4 remind the German Chancellor of ”freedom”, but it also seemed as if the two entities – having strong economic, political and cultural ties – belong together. Berlin has always been an ardent advocate of the Visegrad countries and it is not surprising that high-ranking Germans regularly pop up in those nations. It shows that Germany does not ignore its neighbours, as shown by the recent state visit of the new president Joachim Gauck to Poland and Merkel’s rendezvous with Petr Nečas in Prague.