European Political Neighborhood seeks to ascertain a united entrance in opposition to Russia

Due to its internal contradictions, the meeting became a headache for diplomats.

Forty-four leaders of the Europe met this Thursday (6th) in Prague at the first meeting of the European Political Community (EPC)a meeting with guests like UKUkraine and Turkey, among others, to present a united continental front against Russia.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, highlighted the importance of the meeting, claiming that “we share the same continent and face the same challenges”.

For French President Emmanuel Macron, the CPE sends a “message of unity”.

“It is about building a strategic unity and the objective is, above all, to share the same interpretation of the situation that Europe is facing, to also build a common strategy”, expressed the French president.

The president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, stressed that “it is important to strengthen solidarity cooperation beyond the EU” and pointed out that the initiative to launch the CPE is a “magnificent idea”.

The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, praised the possibility of “building a new security structure in Europe”.

“This has to be done without Russia. Not because we don’t want Russia to be part of Europe, but because President Putin has withdrawn from the European community,” he added.

The result of an idea launched by Macron in May, the European Council presented the EPC as a “political coordination platform” where topics of common interest will be addressed.

Despite the polite diplomatic rhetoric, few concrete results are expected from the meeting.

Thursday’s agenda includes a general meeting of the participants who will then be divided into thematic tables to discuss topics such as peace and security, energy and climate, economic situation and migration and mobility.

Then there will be bilateral meetings and the event will end with a dinner. There is no provision for a final declaration.

Only the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, missed the meeting, due to the political crisis in her country.

All the leaders posed for a “family photo” that the CPE hopes to display as proof of continental unity against Russia.

Due to its internal contradictions, the meeting became a headache for diplomats.

One of the difficulties lies in the presence of the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fundamental ally of the Europeans in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but who maintains tense relations with Greece and Cyprus.

Another focus of tensions is the invitation to Armenia and Azerbaijan, two countries that are trying to negotiate a peace agreement after armed clashes at the border that left at least 286 dead last month, and accusations of summary executions of prisoners.

In turn, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will participate remotely and at the meetings will be represented by his prime minister, Danys Shmyhal.

New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, a staunch supporter of Brexit, will be on one of her first major trips abroad after taking office.

This CPE meeting takes place on the eve of a summit of EU leaders in the Czech capital.

Source: AFP