Event report

The panel discussion was the opening event of the “Restart the Economy Challenge” a project supported by the MeOut Group Visegrad Fund, which was attended by representatives of the four Visegrad countries as well as the six Western Balkan countries (young people involved in the project, local NGOs). The event was attended by about 40 people (subject to current epidemiological rules), and at the end of the panel discussion, several questions were asked from the audience regarding support for the V4 countries in the Western Balkans, and the local media was in attendance too. Hungary's V4 presidency program also places special emphasis on recharge Europe through three pillars: stability, reopening, and partnership. It was stated at the panel discussion that one of the top priorities of Hungarian foreign policy is to promote the European integration of the Western Balkans, as we believe that the European Union cannot be complete without the Western Balkans and that the EU has a fundamental interest in stabilizing its immediate neighborhood. Ensuring a European perspective is the best way to maintain the EU's influence in the region. During the panel discussion, on 21 May 2021, Hungary, together with our Austrian, Czech, Polish and Slovak partners, submitted a non-paper requesting the relevant members of the European Commission, to strongly involve the countries of the Western Balkans in the Conference regarding the future of EU. Our partners stated that in the post-epidemic period, special emphasis should be placed on environmental protection and green economy, and we should not lag behind in the digital competition. Representatives of the V4 countries also agreed that the main message of the coronavirus epidemic was that successful regional cooperation and a coordinated response could guarantee the free movement of goods and the functioning of the economy in such a situation.