Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 12 September 2016: Austrian presidential candidate wishes for Austria to become a member of the Visegrad group

On the 12 of September, the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman held the meeting with the Austrian presidential candidate, Norbert Hofer. After the meeting, Mr Hofer stated to the journalists that he wished for Austria to be included into the Visegrad group. According to Mr Hofer, this union will provide the Central European countries with more influence in the European Union. "We want to create a union in the Union”, Mr Hofer said. This initiative was supported by Mr Zeman who repeatedly stood up for a broader Visegrad group which would include Austria and Slovenia.

However, there is a political controversy over this issue among the Czech political elites. The Czech Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, has already criticized the idea expressed by Miloš Zeman and Norbert Hofer: “We will not create any union within the EU”. Mr Zeman was also criticized for holding a meeting with Mr Hofer who is not elected yet. Thus, the meeting was considered as the interference of the Czech President into the Austrian politics.