V4 calls for bigger role of nations

Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary (Visegrad Group – V4) leaders urged the EU to increase the role of national parliaments in a planned reshape of the bloc's strategy. According to the group's statement “more significant and definite role” should be given to national parliaments in order to “enhance legitimacy of the EU decision-making process.” One of the five scenarios presented this week by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, some states would integrate faster than others, which would result in a two-speed, where CEE countries would develop slower than the Western European ones. Poland's PM Beata Szydlo said changes in the EU should not lead to permanent cracks. “Each model of future cooperation must guarantee the integrity and consistency of the single market, the Schengen area and the Union itself,” she said. In a joint statement ahead of the EU's summit in Rome on Europe's future, the prime ministers of the four central and eastern European Visegrad Group countries also called for EU unity and equality.