The Heads of Government of the Visegrad Group met in Prague on 14 October 2011 to exchange views, inter alia, on the next Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union after the year 2013. The Visegrad Group has agreed on the following key messages:

• The overall size of the EU financial framework proposed by the Commission guarantees adequate financing of the Union’s key policies.
• The future EU budget must contribute to strengthening of the EU competitiveness and growth while ensuring its internal cohesion. A strong and effective Cohesion Policy primarily focused on the less developed regions and Member States can significantly contribute to achieving both of these goals and should not be therefore weakened by any instrument of sectoral policies.
• Cohesion policy should have a privileged position among other EU policies, including a separate subheading. Its traditional orientation aiming at a reduction of regional disparities should be preserved.

The Heads of Government of the Visegrad countries remain committed to continue their close coordination on the matter as the negotiations proceed in the upcoming months.

Visegrad Group Presidency Communication on Multiannual Financial Framework [.PDF, 5 KB]