THE VISEGRAD SHIELD OF EUROPE: FIRST SUCCESS

The Visegrad countries have proven their ability to counter to Brussels bureaucrats and oppose Berlin's dominance. Now we see that consolidation of several countries, to whom the EU elites had assigned a role of "junior partners," brings quite noticeable political results.

On October 31, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that the migrant quotas system has been forced upon the country by Berlin is "dead." Fico's words is not just a statement of fact but also a kind of response to recent threats by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to block the adoption of the EU budget in response to the refusal to accept migrants by Central European countries. However, Renzi's threats look like a gesture of despair in the light of consolidated and principled position demonstrated by the V4.

The Central European countries have managed to do much for last year. First of all they have demarginalized the issue of rejection to adopt migrants and broke the existing status quo in the EU. And all this despite the fact the the Visegrad Four continues to be a mosaic. Its still has not gained a clear institutional form. It is not monolithic in its internal political system - on the one hand we have moderate right governments in Poland and Hungary, and social-democrats in Slovakia and Czech on the other. The V4 countries can be differentiated by the criterion of attitude to Russia, although considering a number of factors there is potential in the four countries to develop a common position towards Moscow, which will be more principal and radical. Despite these differences in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have developed a joint source and move ahead.

"burial" of the migrant quotas problem by the Visegrad Four as well as the very political precedent of official rejection to adopt migrants causes the anti-migrant issue is gaining the all-European scales.

The theme of strengthening borders ceases to be a taboo. And if earlier we could hear proposes to lock borders for migrant flows only from the Hungarian side, the now this position is shared by top politicians even outside the Visegrad countries, Austria is a striking example of this.

Summarizing all above we can claim that by protecting their national interests the Visegrad Group countries are protecting the whole Europe. IN other words the Central-East Europe remains a sort of last hope, a shield for the Occident Civilisation.

by Igor ZAGREBELNY