What is the European Political Community?
Liz Truss in Prague for new 44-nation forum first proposed by Emmanuel Macron
Liz Truss is in Prague for the inaugural summit of the European Political Community (EPC), a new forum proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron to bring together EU nations and those outside the bloc.
The meeting is a 44 nation-strong “smorgasbord of speeches, one-to-one meetings and roundtables in the Czech capital”, said Politico’s London Playbook, “with the Russian war in Ukraine and the resulting fuel crisis dominating the agenda”.
The prime minister will make her second speech in as many days, seeking this time “to convince the gathering that the UK has continued to play a leading role in Europe despite Brexit”, said Sky News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Truss will tell her fellow European premiers: “Europe is facing its biggest crisis since the Second World War and we have faced it together with unity and resolve. We must continue to stand firm - to ensure that Ukraine wins this war, but also to deal with the strategic challenges that it has exposed.”
Described by The Guardian’s Jennifer Rankin as an “ardent convert to Brexit”, Truss has remained sceptical about the EPC and she set out some of these reservations in an op-ed for The Times.
“I welcome the opportunity to work with leaders from across the continent in this new forum,” she wrote. “But this must not cut across the G7 and Nato, and it must not be a talking shop. I want to see concrete action.”
Part of the reason Truss is attending is because “British diplomats have been reassured that the EU is not going to dominate the body”, said The Guardian’s Rankin. But while her attendance will be viewed as a “mark of unity”, there is nobody who “expects the gathering to resolve deep and lingering post-Brexit conflicts”, she added.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
What is the EPC?
The summit is the brainchild of Macron, who hopes it can bring together European nations from within and outside the EU.
The French president announced it in May, in a speech to mark Europe Day. He said that leaders had a “historic obligation” to form a “new European organisation” that “would allow democratic European nations to find a new space for political cooperation, security, cooperation in energy, transport, investment, infrastructure [and] the movement of people”.
The EPC includes the leaders of the EU, as well as candidate countries such as Ukraine, the western Balkans and Turkey, and neighbours that explicitly do not want to be in the union, such as Norway, Switzerland and the UK.
Why is Truss attending?
Truss’s new-found enthusiasm for the group will “raise eyebrows”, said The Independent, given she was explicitly critical of the project just a few months ago when she was foreign secretary.
In June, she said she did not “buy into” a Europe-wide political community. But in a significant volte-face, the prime minister has now even expressed willingness to host the next summit of the EPC in London.
Truss is said to believe that the new group offers an opportunity to rebuild the UK’s relationship with the EU in the wake of Brexit. “It’s good that the EU is thinking about their relationship with us after Brexit and vice-versa,” said one Truss supporter.
The UK’s participation in the summit could also help to ease tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol, the part of Britain’s Brexit deal with the EU that has proven most controversial.
Is Truss’s attendance a risk?
For Truss, rejoining a European political project is a “high-risk” move, which comes at a “sensitive time”, Politico said. This is especially so considering the broadly eurosceptic complexion of her Conservative Party post-Brexit, not to mention the fact that “she is already battling to save her skin”, the news site added, after a “disastrous” first few weeks in office.
The move has certainly proven popular with Tories who did not want Britain to leave the UK. Former cabinet minister David Lidington, who backed Remain in the Brexit referendum, said yesterday that Truss’s attendance would be a “very welcome development”.
What does the EU think of the project?
“Critics, within the EU, are wary of what they see as a ‘vague’ French-led project,” the BBC reported.
Some have expressed concern that France, “a known sceptic of EU expansion”, will use the EPC as a way to create a “parking lot” for countries who want to join the EU. However, Brussels officials have stressed that the new community will not “replace” its own enlargement policy.
Many within the EU have welcomed the UK’s participation in the group. They see Truss’s decision to attend as a “positive signal” after the UK’s relationship with Europe turned “sour” under Boris Johnson, particularly over the Northern Ireland Protocol, said the FT.
“[Truss’s] participation sends a positive signal about broader neighbourhood engagement,” a senior EU diplomat told the newspaper. “It would have equally been worrying if she had decided not to attend.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
Who actually needs life insurance?
The Explainer If you have kids or are worried about passing on debt, the added security may be worth it
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Sexual wellness trends to know, from products and therapies to retreats and hotels
The Week Recommends Talking about pleasure and sexual health is becoming less taboo
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Is the AI bubble deflating?
Today's Big Question Growing skepticism and high costs prompt reconsideration
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar: the Spring Revolution and the downfall of the generals
Talking Point An armed protest movement has swept across the country since the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021
By The Week Staff Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?
Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How green onions could swing South Korea's election
The Explainer Country's president has fallen foul of the oldest trick in the campaign book, not knowing the price of groceries
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published