Central Europe

Central Europe is a region that can be understood as a transition zone between Europeʼs East and West, or as the edge of Western Europe. It has no fixed boundaries or definitions. In the predominant concept, its core consists of the Visegrad Group countries (Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland), but it is sometimes considered to also include the Baltic states (Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia) and possibly some countries of southern or southeastern Europe (most often Slovenia and Croatia). Germany and Austria, two countries that played a crucial role in the region’s historical formation, are considered to be part of Central Europe less often nowadays. With the enlargement of the EU and NATO, Central Europe has become an integral part of Euro-Atlantic structures, but still retains its social, economic and cultural specificities within them.