Central 5, also Central Five (C5), is an informal Central European political cooperation between Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia that began in 2020. It is organised in the format of ministers responsible for foreign affairs. The group was initiated by the former Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
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
Country comparison +NameRepublic of AustriaAustriaCzech RepublicCzechiaHungaryHungarySlovak RepublicSlovakiaRepublic of SloveniaSloveniaRepublik ÖsterreichČeská republikaMagyarországSlovenská republikaRepublika SlovenijaArmsFlagPopulation8,902,600 (2020)3rd10,693,939 (2020)1st9,772,756 (2019)2nd5,457,926 (2020)4th2,095,861 (2020)5thArea83,879 km22nd78,866 km23rd93,030 km21st49,035 km24th20,271 km25thGovernmentFederal parliamentary constitutional republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional republicCapitalViennaPragueBudapestBratislavaLjubljanaHead of stateAlexander Van der Bellen (Ind.)President (2016–)Petr Pavel (Ind.)President (2023–)Tamás Sulyok (Independent)President (2024–)Peter Pellegrini Voice – Social DemocracyPresident (2024–)Nataša Pirc Musar (Ind.)President (2022–)Head of governmentChristian Stocker(ÖVP/EPP)Federal Chancellor (2025–)Petr Fiala (ODS/ECR)Prime Minister (2021–)Péter Magyar (TISZA)Prime Minister (2026–)Robert Fico (SMER/unaffiliated)Prime Minister (2023–)Robert Golob (GS/RE)Prime Minister (2022–)Foreign ministerBeate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS)Minister of European and International Affairs (2025–)Jan Lipavský (Pirates/G-EFA)Minister of Foreign Affairs (2021–)Anita Orbán (TISZA)Minister of Foreign Affairs(2026–)Juraj Blanár (SMER/unaffiliated)Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs (2023–)Tanja Fajon (SD/S&D)Minister of Foreign Affairs (2022–)GDP (nominal)$477.672 billion (2018)1st$261.732 billion (2020)2nd$180.498 billion (2020)3rd$111.874 billion (2020)4th$56 billion (2020)5thGDP (nominal) per capita$53,764 (2018)1st$24,569 (2020)3rd$18,535 (2020)5th$20,495 (2020)4th$27,452 (2020)2ndGDP (PPP)$461.432 billion (2018)1st$432.346 billion (2020)2nd$350.000 billion (2020)3rd$209.186 billion (2020)4th$83 billion (2020)5thGDP (PPP) per capita$51,936 (2018)1st$40,585 (2020)2nd$35,941 (2020)5th$38,321 (2020)4th$40,343 (2020)3rdCurrencyEuro (€) – EURCzech koruna (Kč) – CZKHungarian forint (Ft) – HUFEuro (€) – EUREuro (€) – EURHDI0.914 (very high) (2018)1st0.891 (very high) (2018)3rd0.845 (very high) (2018)5th0.857 (very high) (2018)4th0.902 (very high) (2018)2ndGini27.5 (low) (2019)4th24.0 (low) (2019)3rd28.0 (low) (2019)5th20.9 (low) (2019)1st23.9 (low) (2019)2nd
Meetings
+DatePlaceHost16 June 2020 Vienna, Austria Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of European and International Affairs14 July 2020 Budapest, Hungary Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade15 September 2020 Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia Anže Logar, Minister of Foreign Affairs12 November 2020VirtualNo host13 May 2021 Bratislava, Slovakia Ivan Korčok, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs20 July 2021 Mělník, Czechia Jakub Kulhánek, Minister of Foreign Affairs12 April 2022 Kamenice, Czechia Jan Lipavský, Minister of Foreign Affairs13 June 2022 Budapest, Hungary Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade27 September 2023 Vienna, Austria Alexander Schallenberg, Minister of European and International Affairs26 March 2024 Ljubljana, Slovenia Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign Affairs
References