A collection of European leaders representing over 40 countries met in Prague Thursday for the inaugural summit of the European Political Community.
The leaders, including British Prime Minister Liz Truss and French President Emmanuel Macron, were expected to discuss the energy crisis across the continent, along with climate change, immigration, the economy, and responses to threats disrupting peace and security in the region. The community consists of the 27 countries in the European Union and 17 countries outside of the EU. Russia was excluded due to its invasion of Ukraine.
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“The primary goal is that we all come together because the Russian war in Ukraine is affecting all of us in the security sense and also through our economies, through the rising energy costs. The only way to handle this is working together,” Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said, according to Reuters.
The summit included several roundtable discussions that focused on the issues facing Europeans. The meeting will conclude after leaders meet for dinner to go over what happened at the roundtables.
France’s priority will be to establish more electricity connections in Europe and to lower gas prices, Macron said. Both objectives were made worse by tensions with Russia.
“We share a same space. Very often, the same history. And we are meant to write our future together,” Macron said. “I hope we will be able to get common projects.”
Critics of the organization have dismissed the new political community as another bloc of European countries that will be ineffective due to its size and the tensions between certain countries, such as Greece and Turkey. However, French officials dismissed the criticism, claiming that the G-20 summit is able to reach a consensus.
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A separate meeting of the European Council is expected Friday, in which leaders will discuss how to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. No other meeting of the political community is scheduled so far, but leaders are debating meeting twice a year.
