Central 5, also Central Five (C5), is an informal political cooperation between

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

that began in 2020. It is organised in the format of ministers responsible for foreign affairs. The group was initiated by the Austrian Foreign Minister

Alexander Schallenberg Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg (; born 20 June 1969) is an Austrian diplomat, jurist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office from ...

. The main reason for closer cooperation between the countries is the coordination of the activities connected with the COVID-19 pandemics. Meetings are focused on border crossing and the exchange of views on EU activities to overcome the economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic.

Current representatives

File:Alexander Schallenberg (51029203647).jpg,

Minister for European and International Affairs File:Jan Lipavský 3 July 2020.jpg,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Jan Lipavský Jan Lipavský (born 2 July 1985) is a Czech politician and IT manager, who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic since December 2021, in the Cabinet of Petr Fiala. A member of the Czech Pirate Party, he was previously a ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

File:Péter Szijjártó - Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade (44613275674) (cropped).jpg,

Péter Szijjártó
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade File:Miroslav Wlachovský, 2023.jpg,

Miroslav Wlachovský
Minister of Foreign and European Affairs File:Tanja Fajon - 52115201735 (cropped).jpg,

Tanja Fajon Tanja Fajon (born May 9, 1971) is a Slovenian politician, leader of Social Democrats, part of the Party of European Socialists and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. She has served as the minister of foreign and europ ...

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

Country comparison

Meetings

References

{{Reflist Central Europe Foreign relations of Slovenia Politics of Slovenia Foreign relations of Austria Politics of Austria Foreign relations of Slovakia Politics of Slovakia Foreign relations of Hungary Politics of Hungary Foreign relations of the Czech Republic Politics of the Czech Republic