Blyzniak O. The Role of the Visegrad Group States in Shaping the Eastern Policy of the European Union.

In the work on the basis of theoretical concepts of political realism and constructivism, various methodology and representative source base the eastern policy of the EU is investigated and the participation of the Visegrad countries in the processes of its formation and implementation is traced. The participation of the Visegrad countries in the discussions on the launch of the European Neighborhood Policy is analyzed. The positions of the Visegrad Group countries on the Eastern Partnership in the context of the Polish-Swedish project and the Czech memorandum are highlighted. The activity of the Visegrad countries in the process of implementation of the Eastern Partnership is traced. The activity of the Visegrad Four countries in the context of the implementation of the EU policy towards Ukraine is studied and the positions of these states on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are characterized. The opinion is substantiated that the lack of unanimity among the V4 countries regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict calls into question their effectiveness as defenders of the interests of the Eastern Partnership countries.