Will the EU overcome the EastWest divide?

The Visegrad Group started gloriously and served for quite some time as a good platform of political change, contributing to the democratic development of Central Europe. By now, however, this has changed. European Union membership with all its benefits and obligations has had a great impact on the climate policies of the Visegrad countries, which would not have happened outside of the Union. Today’s Visegrad cooperation is based on ignoring climate threats, attempting to extend fossil fuel burning, violating air pollution limits and undermining the development of renewable energies. Renewable energy policies are the focus of this paper, as they are often debated and seen as controversial in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, which demonstrates the attitude of policymakers toward the wider context of climate policy. Renewable policy and its consequent uptake in the energy mix will be critical for the needed acceleration of phasing out coal capacities. At the moment, however, renewable development is held back by the Visegrad governments despite the economic viability and attractiveness of renewable technologies. At the same time, the uncertainty of legal frameworks creates a poor-spirited investment environment. The Visegrad Group plays a significant role in setting the agenda for the rest of the CEE Member States. It is therefore interesting to examine the dynamics of this group of countries and the way they are dealing with energy and climate policy. Three countries of this region – the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland – were responsible for blocking the EU’s ambition to become climate-neutral by 2050 at the European Council in the summer of 2019, hindering a clear and united voice of the European Union in international climate negotiations. In this context, this paper finally gives recommendations in priority action areas for targeted political and diplomatic interventions by both European and national policymakers.