Regional classification: The case of Visegrad Four

Since the biggest enlargement of the European Union in 2004, the EU cohesion policy has made a significant to spreading growth and prosperity across the European territory. Despite this, the cohesion policy is confronted with persistent economic, social and territorial disparities among countries and regions and weakened growth and competitiveness. The aim of the paper is to evaluate regional disparities in the case of Visegrad Four (V4) countries in the year 2010 and to propose an alternative method of regional classification could be helpful for the efficient allocation of European funds. In the paper, an analysis of the disparities in V4 NUTS 2 regions is undertaken on the basis of cluster analysis. The three determined clusters confirm that 2 regions with capital cities (Praha, Bratislavský kraj, Mazowieckie and Közép-Magyarország) still occupy dominant positions in comparison with other regions in the V4. Significant disparities between clusters are, especially regarding the economic and innovative performance and territorial cohesion.