The first session opened with a minute's silence for the victims of Saturday's shooting in Kraków, in which six people were killed and 15 injured, including two police officers.
Poland is represented by Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty and Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
Slovak National Council Speaker Richard Raši offered condolences to the victims' families and loved ones and wished those injured a speedy recovery. He said the Visegrad Group (V4) countries stood in solidarity with Poland.
Raši said he had welcomed parliamentary leaders from Czechia, Poland and Hungary to Bratislava Castle as part of Slovakia's Visegrad Group presidency.
“Our discussions focused on the competitiveness of Central Europe, affordable and secure energy supplies, the future of the automotive industry, technological neutrality and EU enlargement, particularly the Western Balkans,” Raši said on X.
Raši also said he had presented V4 Youth, a new initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation among young people involved in their national parliaments.
According to the Sejm Chancellery, Czarzasty will welcome the return of cooperation within the Visegrad Group. The Chancellery said this cooperation was one of the Sejm's leading priorities in parliamentary diplomacy.
During the competitiveness session, Czarzasty is expected to call for the region to move from being Europe's assembly plant to a centre of innovation. He is also expected to highlight issues including energy prices, the ETS2 system and nuclear energy.
Czarzasty is also expected to describe EU enlargement as part of a new European security architecture.
Kidawa-Błońska said on Wednesday that the EU budget would also be among the topics discussed in Bratislava. She said countries in the region wanted cohesion policy to continue operating fairly and agriculture to receive funding, describing these as their priorities.
She also said Poland would raise EU enlargement to include Ukraine and Moldova, alongside discussions on the Western Balkans.
On Friday morning, the parliamentary speakers are scheduled to discuss negotiations on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034.
Representatives of other countries cooperating with the Visegrad Group will also take part in the Bratislava discussions, in what is known as the V4+ format.
Slovakia has held the V4's one-year rotating presidency since 1 July. Its 2026–2027 programme is titled “V4 a Stronger Europe.”
The programme focuses on strengthening Europe through coordination of positions within the EU and NATO, support for Ukraine, transatlantic cooperation and closer engagement with external partners through the V4+ format, including Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Western Balkans and Turkey.
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Source: PAP