Although Central European countries are keeping their numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths low, they are still too concerned to lift containment measures and reopen their economies. In contrast to the governments of neighboring Germany or Austria, those of the Visegrád Group – Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia – are still worried that the peak of the pandemic is yet to come in their countries. China’s footprint in the region has grown as it has supplied medical resources, helping local leaders and politicians with “special” Chinese connections to thrive. Meanwhile, a resolution of the European Parliament has criticized the ruling parties in Budapest and Warsaw for misusing the current health crisis to achieve domestic power grabs that are incompatible with EU values.
In this Web Discussion, we fact-checked the impact of the pandemic in the Visegrád Group, discussed China’s charm offensive there, and compared the national discourses of its four members on the EU dimension of the crisis ahead of the European Council’s video conference on Thursday, April 23.
Speakers:
Dr. András Rácz and Adam Traczyk, DGAP Research Fellows
Jana Kobzova, Chief Foreign Policy Expert to Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová
Martin Ehl, Chief Analyst at the Czech Economic Daily Hospodářske noviny
Moderated by:
Milan Nič, Head of DGAP’s Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia