It was already jokingly called “NATO without the US” in Brussels. The six-monthly meeting of leaders from all over Europe, the European Political Community (EPG), had a non-European as a guest for the first time this week: Mark Carney, Prime Minister of NATO ally Canada, advocate of the multilateral order and outspoken critic of Donald Trump.
António Costa, President of the European Council, made no secret of why the Canadian was allowed to participate in the European consultations in Armenia. He is seen as a political kindred spirit of Europe and an ally in the permanent controversies with the White House and the battle with the Kremlin. Costa: “In a world where chaos is increasing […] Europe must be on the front line for the international rules-based order, enshrined in the UN Charter […] to defend. The world is not only increasingly unstable, but also multipolar. That development requires multipolar cooperation to guarantee peace and security. At all these levels, Canada not only thinks the same, it is also a partner.”
Few firm agreements were made at the meeting, but that is not the importance of the meeting. The EPG was founded after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, based on an idea by French President Emmanuel Macron. After the invasion, EU leaders quickly realized that the war had consequences for the whole of Europe and that it was more important than ever for the EU to engage non-EU countries in Europe. The conversation was more important than collective action.
Despite the lack of directly measurable results, the more than forty leaders met for the eighth time. It is, say EU diplomats, important for politicians to meet each other, in large meetings, but especially among themselves. The EU leaders meet a few times a year in an EU context; there was no platform yet for consultation between EU countries and non-EU countries.
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Withdrawal of American soldiers
Government leaders also use the EPG to conduct a whole series of conversations in one day. For example, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the EU and the UK will negotiate British participation in a new European investment fund that will finance young tech companies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again urged European colleagues to continue supporting Ukraine. He put Russia first. “Russia has announced that the parade on May 9 in Moscow will have to do without military equipment. They cannot afford it – and they fear drones over Red Square. That is telling. It shows that they are not strong now.”
Armenia has chosen to turn to Europe. We can’t pretend this doesn’t exist
The clash between American President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war in Iran will undoubtedly have been discussed in the mutual discussions. Trump attracted attention on Friday when he announced that he would withdraw five thousand American soldiers from Germany and not fulfill a promise by his predecessor to place cruise missiles in Europe. Europeans were already anticipating that the US would withdraw soldiers from Europe, but were outraged by the blunt announcement and the suggestion that the withdrawal was punishment for German criticism of the war.
NATO chief Mark Rutte underlined to reporters that European NATO partners have “understood the message” from the US. Most countries allow the US to use military bases for the war in Iran and a number of countries are already sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz to assist with free passage after the declaration of a ceasefire.
Support for pro-European leaders
In addition to group photos and dealmaking, the EPG is primarily a stage for political symbolism. Carney’s invitation showed that the meeting is being used to send a message to the rest of the world: the West still exists, although Europe and Donald Trump’s White House are quite at odds with each other.
The location of the meetings is also symbolic. Once a year the EPG is in an EU country, the other time in a non-EU country. For example, a meeting was convened in the United Kingdom to emphasize that when it comes to defense, London and Brussels have common interests. There was also a summit in Moldova to make it clear to the population that Europe supports the pro-European (read: anti-Russian) course of President Maia Sandu. It was a clear message to the Kremlin: Moldova belongs to Europe if its people so choose.
This time the government leaders flew to the Armenian capital Yerevan. This time too, the signal was clear and addressed to the Kremlin. Europe does not intend to treat the Caucasus as an exclusive Russian sphere of influence and supports the pro-European course of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
“For decades we had become somewhat accustomed to the fact that Armenia was in a sense a satellite state of Russia,” Macron said on the sidelines of the meeting. “Armenia has chosen to free itself from this restriction and turn to Europe. We cannot pretend that this does not exist.”
A formal summit between Armenia and the EU will follow this Tuesday. Economic cooperation is central to this. The EU is also helping Armenia to counter anti-European propaganda spread by Russia in the run-up to the elections on Sunday 7 June.
