scholarly journals The Visegrad Four in Times of Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Anna Chetverikova ◽  

The article contains an analysis of the Visegrad Group’s approaches to the world financial and economic crisis of 2008 and the pandemic in 2020. The reasons which determined the increase of the Four’s importance in the EU during periods of global distress for a number of economic indicators are outlined. Special attention is paid to the economic dynamics of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2020 in comparison to the time of crisis of 2008-2009 and to the factors influencing the response of countries to the complementary economic issues. The transformation of trade and investment relations within the Visergad Group during the crisis periods is considered. The reasons for changes inside the group are identified. The conclusion is drawn that external challenges cause the weakening of relations within the Four in several areas; the Visegrad market can not fully play the compensatory role for its members in emergency conditions. However, the opportunity for expanding relations within the Group in the future is not excluded. The results of the experts’ survey on the attitudes of the Four during periods of external challenges, relations within the Visegrad Group and directions for future development are presented.

Author(s):  
Jiří Sedlo ◽  
Pavel Tomšík

The paper describes strategic changes in the structure of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) varieties grown in the Czech Republic. In 2004–2005, (i.e. after the admission of the Czech Republic into the EU) expenditures associated with restructuralisation and transformation of vineyards amounted for CZK 25,423 thous. The authors examine the development taking place in this domain within the last 50 years (i.e. from 1960 to 2010) and pay detailed attention to the period of 1989 to 2010. The paper analyses reasons of these changes and tries to describe the future development expected after 2010. The current production potential of the Czech Republic are 19,633.45 hectares of vineyards. For the time being, there are in average 1.07 wine growers per hectare of vineyards. As compared with 1960, the acreage of vineyards has doubled up and the number of the most frequent varieties has also increased. Within the period of 1989–1990, four varieties (i.e. Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling and Sankt Laurent) occupied more than 60 % of the total vineyards area in the Czech Republic, whereas at present there are altogether 8 varieties (Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling, Rhein Riesling, Sauvignon, Sankt Laurent, Blaufrankish, and Zweigeltrebe) at the nearly the same acreage.As far as the percentages of Müller Thurgau, Green Veltliner, Italian Riesling and Sankt Laurent varieties is concerned, it is anticipated that their acreages will further decrease, whereas those of Rhein Riesling, Sauvignon, Blaufrankish and Zweigeltrebe are expected to grow. The industry is under pressure of all Porter’s five forces of competition from external sources.


2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Vaněk ◽  
J. Jarolímek ◽  
P. Šimek

The paper deals with the current trends in development of communication infrastructure which is, above all, represented by high-speed Internet connection (broadband). It is focused on conditions of the Czech Republic; or more precisely, on its rural areas, including possibilities of further development in the following period in context of trends in the world, in the OECD and the EU countries.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No, 7) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
A. Škorpíková

The paper is a part of the solution of the research plan of the FBE MUAF in Brno, No. GAMSM 431100007, and it is focused on the analysis of factors influencing competitiveness of the wine-growing and viniculture. This paper is based on the hypothesis that the competitiveness of the viniculture and wine sector could be influenced, amongst other things, by specific national conditions as defined by “Porter’s diamond”. This essay deals with factor conditions like the total area of vineyards, the average per hectare yield of grapes, the total wine production and wine consumption including the foreign trade with this commodity. The comparison of the chosen national conditions is made within the EU member states and also within six candidate countries – Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (56) ◽  
pp. 255-279
Author(s):  
Zbyněk Dubský ◽  
Kateřina Kočí

The original purpose of the Visegrad Group (VG or V4 – which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) was primarily to support its member states’ accession to the EU and NATO, which it successfully achieved. However, the views on the current cooperation of four Central European countries differ. Some researchers believe that the V4 has transformed since 2004 into a viable project which has become even an inspirational model of cooperation for other regional groupings. According to them, and contrary to doubts about the continuation of the V4 project, membership of the EU has given the V4 a new impulse, and its agenda has been expanded into new areas of cooperation which included EU affairs. Therefore, the V4 operates now as a distinct regional grouping within the EU (i.e. positive input regarding their commitment in several Council presidencies). Others, however, suggest that V4 cooperation seems to be labelled as a defensive project, a coalition within the EU, which is against something (recently the prominent topics have revolved around migration issues) and that it could lead to the marginalisation of the group and thus reduce its importance at the EU level. While discussing the future role of the V4, the article will focus on the Czech Republic, and its potential to promote its interests within the framework of the V4, especially in the context of its current presidency (from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020).


2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 222-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Svatoš ◽  
L. Smutka

The paper analyzes the development of the value, commodity and territorial structure and competitiveness of agricultural trade of the countries of the Visegrad Group in 1993–2008. Over the years, there has been a sharp increase not only to the volume, but also to the value of the traded agricultural products. The territorial structure of both exports and imports has narrowed to a decisive extent, primarily to the trade with the countries of the EU27. The commodity structure of agricultural trade has adapted very strongly both to the world and especially to the European market and it has furthermore reacted to the changes in the structure of the individual national markets. In the course of the years, the commodity structure has profiled so that there has been a limitation of aggregation with a strong comparative advantage on the market of the EU countries in relation to the aggregations that did not held this advantage. The analysis that has been performed indicates that the process of the accession to the EU has been reflected positively in the results of agricultural trade especially in the case of Poland. In the case of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the entry into the EU likewise has not led to a worsening of the results in the area of agricultural trade. Only in the case of Hungary, one does find serious structural problems after the entry into the EU in the case of agricultural trade. It can be assumed that these problems can be attributed for the most part to the Hungary’s current economic problems.    


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-199
Author(s):  
Diana Ivanova

Abstract The migration crisis and related challenges for the future of the Schengen area are some of the main problems facing the EU. The opinion of the Visegrad Four on this issue, however, seriously differs from that of Brussels. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are firmly against the quota principle in the allocation of migrants. The aim of this article is to present the migrant crisis as a top priority during the fifth in the history Polish rotating presidency of the Visegrad Four - from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. This objective will be realized through the implementation of basic tasks - analysis of the documents adopted at the forums of the organization, and the views of leading politicians from the Visegrad countries


Author(s):  
Petr David

The contribution deals with the tax incidence of the changes in the excise duty on cigarettes rates since the year 2003 to 2006 in the Czech Republic. The shift in the tax burden is quantified on the basis of observations of the consumer prices of selected commodities subjected to the excise duties in periods of the changes in the excise duty on cigarettes rates in the Czech Republic. The factors influencing the shifts and impacts of increased tax burden caused by excise duty on cigarettes rate increase in the Czech Republic are identified in this contribution. The results of the contribution enable to set synthetic conclusions and recommendation for the future development of excise duty on cigarettes rates and tax policy in the Czech Republic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 06041
Author(s):  
Veronika Vrablova

Research background: Small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of any national economy. Therefore, sources of financing are important for the enterprise´s growth around the world. Finance for enterprises can be divided into classic and alternative. Recently, alternative ways of financing experienced a boom, especially venture capital, business angels, and crowdfunding. Although this type of funding is well known around the world, there are difficulties in using alternative financing among the Visegrad group. Moreover, there are lots of other factors curbing the expansion of enterprises. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare sources of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises among the Visegrad group with focus on alternative financing. Visegrad group consists of the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, the Hungary, and the Poland. This paper presents an overview of available financing for small and medium-sized enterprises among the Visegrad group. Methods: For analysis, we used data from the the Survey on the access to finance for enterprises in 2019. Moreover, we also did hypothesis testing to compare the usage of financing through bank overdraft in the year 2019. Findings & Value added: We have reached several conclusions. Firstly, this paper suggests that classic sources of financing are used more than alternative ways, from which the bank loans and leasing are used the most. Secondly, the best condition of financing among countries of the Visegrad group is in Poland, but also other countries have huge potential. And finally, financing of enterprises is not the main issue causing difficulties in making business.


Author(s):  
Nahanga Verter ◽  
Lea Hasíková

Grape is a major agrarian input for winemaking in the Czech Republic (Czechia). This contribution assesses the performance of grape production in Czechia. The country’s performance is compared with Slovakia and some major producing countries in the world. Using the OLS approach, the results show that area harvested, yields, farm gate price and wine export have a positive relationship with grape production in Czechia. The descriptive approach shows Czechia as a net importer of wine. Also, grape yields in Czechia and Slovakia have been below the EU and global averages. These two countries’ wine exports have been concentrated in few markets within the EU single market. There is a need for grape farmers in the countries to find ways to improve yield per hectare. Similarly, export promotion should be encouraged and diversified beyond the EU markets to reduce external demand volatility or shocks. Arguably, this measure may accelerate foreign earnings from grape and wine related export products in the country.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5612
Author(s):  
Michał Gostkowski ◽  
Tomasz Rokicki ◽  
Luiza Ochnio ◽  
Grzegorz Koszela ◽  
Kamil Wojtczuk ◽  
...  

The main purpose of this paper is to assess energy consumption with a breakdown into main sectors of the countries that belong to the Visegrad Group. The specific objectives aim to determine changes in energy absorption, its productivity, structure by sectors and to show the similarities of the Visegrad Group countries to the other EU states in terms of the sectoral energy absorption structure. All members of the Visegrad group, i.e., Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, were purposefully selected for the study as of 31 December 2018. The research period covered the years 1990–2018. The sources of gathered information were the literature on the subject and OECD data. The following methods were used for the analysis and presentation of materials: explanations, tabular and graphical depictions, descriptive statistics, dynamics indicators, and cluster analysis performed with the following methods: k-means, hierarchical agglomerative clusters and DIvisive ANAlysis (DIANA). There is a limited number of previous studies on the relationship between the national level of economic development and energy consumption in different sectors of industry. Additionally, there are no such analytical projects concerning EU states. The article fills the research gap in this area. It was established that the dynamics of productivity growth over the nine years (2010–2018) was similar in the countries of the Visegrad group and on average for the EU. This means that the members of the Visegrad group did not actually improve their energy efficiency as compared to the EU average. The reason may be the increasingly faster implementation of modern technologies in developed economies of Western Europe as compared to the developing countries, which include the members of the Visegrad group. The conversion of the economy had a very large impact on changing the structure of energy absorption by sector. Industry and agriculture lost their importance. On the other hand, the transport and service sectors benefited. As a result of the cluster analysis, all EU (European Union) states were divided into four groups. Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary found themselves in one group, along with most Western European countries. This may mean that the economies of these states have become unified with highly developed economic systems. Slovakia found itself in the group of states with a greater importance of industry. The study complements the contribution to the theory. From a practical point of view, it shows the impact of economic transformation on changes in energy consumption in individual sectors, which may be a model of transition in this area.


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