“Regional formats are an integral part of Czech foreign policy. The C5 allows us to seek common interests with our partners from the Central European region, which we can then pursue both in the EU and in other international platforms,” the Czech diplomatic chief explained.

At the invitation of Minister Tanja Fajon, the Czech Minister, his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjárto, the head of Austrian diplomacy Alexander Schallenberg and his Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár met in the Slovenian capital. On the agenda were Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, EU reforms and a lunch with Montenegrin Foreign Minister Filip Ivanović.

“I stressed the need to increase support for Ukraine in all areas, including military aid. The last two years have shown us the importance of EU unity, and today we have also addressed other challenges ahead of us, including the acceleration of the EU enlargement process,” Minister Lipavský added.

The Czech diplomatic chief recalled the recent decision of EU leaders to open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina. “This is positive message for the entire Western Balkans region, including Montenegro. Montenegro foreign minister briefed us on the progress made by the Montenegrin government in reforms that open up the country’s European perspective. The countries of the Western Balkans have the full support of the Czechia in this endeavour. This also applies to the efforts of Ukraine and Moldova on their way to the European family,” the Czech Minister added.

The meeting in Ljubljana is the eleventh meeting of the Central European Five. The C5 format emerged spontaneously during the first wave of the pandemic. Over time, ministers also started to discuss current foreign policy issues.

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