Since 2022, the topic of energy security has returned to the debate in the EU and in Central Europe, including in the Visegrad Four (V4) countries. This is mainly due to the growing challenges and risks arising from Russia’s war against Ukraine, Russia’s continued use of energy as a weapon in its relations with the West, the abrupt decrease in supplies of Russian energy resources to the EU, and the associated reshaping of supply chains and linkages. The ongoing war has also increased physical risks to infrastructure security (not only in Ukraine, but also, for example, in the Baltic Sea). In addition, energy markets are affected by other global shifts and tensions, including in the Middle East (consequences of Israel—Hamas war and of Israel’s attacks on Iran among others), and by changes in US energy, trade and foreign policy.

Against this background, it is important to examine how Member States, including the V4 countries, view energy security. The text below shows how representatives of these countries define the objectives and the most important challenges for energy security, what those challenges stem from, and whether—and in which areas—they see a need for regional cooperation to strengthen security. In writing this text, I used available publications, but an invaluable source was a research survey completed in October 2025 by energy experts and sector practitioners from Czechia, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.