The countries of Europe are very different but share a continent and have had the same concerns since the Russian attack on Ukraine: security and energy. Whether you’re an EU member or not, energy prices are skyrocketing and Russian aggression has disrupted peace on the continent.
Because of that interconnectedness, the first meeting of the European Political Community (EPG) took place on Thursday, at the initiative of French President Macron. The Prague summit emphasized the unity of Europe: all heads of government were present, except those of Russia and Belarus (and Prime Minister Frederiksen of Denmark, who had a crucial parliamentary debate). The meeting also emphasized the isolation of Russian President Putin. In Prague, Europe was symbolically divided in two: Putin against the rest.
New tires
Because of the war in Ukraine, the continent needs new forms of cooperation. Ukraine and Moldova need to be involved in Europe, but they are far from ripe for full EU membership. The EPG is an intermediate form that embodies that these countries belong to Europe. The same is true for the countries of the Western Balkans, such as Albania and North Macedonia, whose accession to the EU may be quite some time away.
The war in Ukraine also makes it necessary to strengthen ties with the main non-EU countries, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The new British Prime Minister Truss was received with all due respect. Prime Minister Rutte called her ‘very impressive’, President Macron thought ‘it was very good to have Liz Truss here in Prague’. France announced a new bilateral agenda with the United Kingdom, while the Netherlands wants to work with the British in supporting Ukraine and setting up energy projects in the North Sea. After Brexit, the EU and the United Kingdom broke up in a little amicable way, but the war is driving them together again. As Prime Minister Rutte noted, the United Kingdom plays a leading role in supporting Ukraine. In this regard, Europe desperately needs the British. On the other hand, Truss is interested in collaborating with Europeans in the field of energy.
On the other side of Europe is Turkey, a country that is still officially a candidate for membership, but was moving in an authoritarian direction under President Erdogan. It is the only NATO country to refuse to implement Western sanctions against Russia. But Turkey is an indispensable strategic partner because of its geographical location, its NATO membership and its channel of communication with Putin. The fact that Erdogan came to Prague at all was already a diplomatic success for the initiators of the EPG.
Nagorno-Karabakh
After the first EPG, European leaders expressed their satisfaction. In the margins of the meeting, an EU civilian mission to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan was announced to mediate in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The leaders of Turkey and Armenia are also talking to each other, for the first time since the two countries announced their intention to normalize relations at the end of 2021. Of course the contradictions slumbered beneath the apparently calm surface. Erdogan accused Greece of being untruthful, and in the background there was a constant disagreement about tackling high energy prices between the EU countries.
The EPG did not produce many concrete results, but that was not the intention either. The summit made it clear that the countries of Europe, EU member state or not, need each other in the fight against Russian aggression and its consequences. To emphasize that interconnectedness, the second EPG summit will be held next spring in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova that feels directly threatened by Putin’s imperialism.