Who is fighting against the EU's energy and climate policy in the European Parliament? The contribution of the Visegrad Group

Our research focuses on EU energy and climate policy by examining the voting behaviour of Visegrad members of European Parliament (MEPs) during the Eighth Parliament (covering the period 1 July 2014-18 April 2019). In contrast to the main streams of literature, which primarily analyse the Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) as an example of a regional coalition and their role in the EU, we focus on the internal coherence of the group and especially issues on which they vote differently as well as their voting affiliation with political groups within the European Parliament. Our research is methodologically based on the analysis of roll-call votes (RCV). We conclude that there is considerable heterogeneity evident in MEP voting behaviour and thus we can assume that the relative proximity among Visegrad countries' positions is not apparent in the European Parliament. Moreover, we have confirmed that hard Eurosceptic MEPs are not a homogenous group and in the EP seeking support for legislative approval is more difficult than may be expected.