| Summary/Abstract |
GERMANY'S interaction with the Visegrád Four [the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia], or the V4, is indicative of the continuity of Berlin's commitment to preserving the integrity of the European Union with its subregional integration formats. Accentuating commonalities and taking into account the differences between "old" and "new" Europe, the Germans act both as an intermediary in establishing compromises between the V4 and the EU and as an advocate of the interests of young EU member states, which are markets for German goods. The common denominator in Germany's and the V4's policies is sanctions against Moscow, although the approaches of the countries to the problem have their own nuances - for example, Berlin and Budapest differ in their approaches to energy security issues.
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