In 2019, the mayors of the central and eastern European cities of Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and Bratislava signed the so-called "Free Cities Alliance". Mirroring the existing Visegrad coalition between Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, the four capitals forged an alternative regional alliance promoting ‘democratic and pro-European’ values.
“The Free Cities Alliance” aims at tackling climate crisis, the rise of right-wing populisms, and the crisis of liberal democracies. Negotiations are underway with Brussels for these cities to receive EU funding directly, that is to eliminate their national governments as middlemen, and to bypass national envelopes.
This way, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw have challenged the foreign policies of their own countries. “The capital cities of Visegrád do not want to be penalized and persecuted for the fact that the government of this country or another is breaking laws, embezzling EU grants or denies the climate crisis,” says Mr Hřib.
