Federalism in Central Europe: Past and Present

In May 2004, ten new states joined the European Union (EU); among them were five countries that for a long time were considered to belong geographically to Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. What was ‘Central Europe’? Was it a viable political as well as a geographical conception, and what contribution did it try to make to the peace and stability of the European continent? These are some of the questions that this chapter seeks to answer, and in order to do so, a new interpretation is needed in the definition of Central Europe.