A new website entitled Visegrad-4 was launched earlier this week and it aims to serve as an independent English-language news source for Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The site notes that these East/Central European states share a common historical heritage, each of them having been impacted by pre-World War I empires, Soviet influence and a dramatic transition to democracy and free market economy in 1989. Twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the re-introduction of multi-party democracy, the member states of the Visegrad Group should aim for greater cooperation and alignment of policies when negotiating with other European Union countries, in order to increase the region’s voice and weight both within the EU and abroad.

Visegrad-4 News hopes to help increase awareness about the political, social, economic and cultural trends occurring in the four member states and assist in developing greater dialogue in the region.

The Visegrad Group–often referred to as the Visegrad Four– was formed in 1991 in order to foster cooperation among Central Europe’s transitioning countries. The group eventually came to include Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the then newly formed Slovak Republic. The alliance is led by a rotating presidency, with a change in leadership occurring each June.