Historic first. Prague hosts the summit of the European Political Community
The idea to hold a meeting of the European Political Community came this spring from French President Emmanuel Macron. According to him, he has the initiative “bring together a democratic European nation who share our set of values and who may or may not seek to join the EU”. The organizer of the summit is the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. However, according to experts, the Czechia is ready for its position in the European Union.
“I believe it is also the beginning of a new level of cooperation between European countries within the framework of the EPC,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said at Wednesday’s press conference. “I believe that the summit will be, and it actually already is, an excellent advertisement for the Czech Republic and for Prague,” added the prime minister.
According to him, the aim of the summit is not to reach “written conclusions”. “The aim is to discuss and create a framework agreement between European countries in the areas under discussion. It is clear that European states can only prosper if there is security and peace in Europe,” reminded Fiala.
The Prague summit is exceptional in that it is not only a meeting of the leader of the European Union. A total of 44 countries were invited, including seventeen prime ministers and presidents from other European countries.
Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Great Britain, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan sent their representatives. On the contrary, the representatives of Russia and Belarus did not receive an invitation.
Macron, Truss or Erdogan
Some guests arrived in Prague already on Wednesday, others started arriving during Thursday morning. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Liz Trussová, whose performance is highly anticipated, or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also a watched guest, came to Prague.
The representative of Ukraine will also be present at the summit. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal arrived in Prague. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join the summit remotely.
Distinguished guests will also arrive at the summit. One of them will be NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will talk to representatives of the European Union about deepening cooperation. According to observers, a joint EU-NATO could be signed, which the declaration of 2018 failed to achieve.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Saní, who flew to the Czech Republic on Wednesday and met with President Miloš Zeman, was also supposed to be an informal guest. The Emir was supposed to stay here during Thursday, but he flew out in a hurry on Wednesday. According to the director of castle diplomacy, Rudolf Jindrák, Brussels did not agree to his participation in the summit.
President Miloš Zeman also attended the speeches at Prague Castle. But his role will be purely formal. The host of the political leaders of the old continent is Prime Minister Petr Fiala, not the President.