The summit will be attended by the heads of government of 44 countries. Photo credit: zenon Moreau / BD.
Prague, Oct 5 (CTK) – On Thursday, the new European Political Community (EPC) will discuss security and peace, energy, climate issues, and the economic situation at its inaugural summit in Prague, according to information posted on the European Council website yesterday.
Representatives of 44 countries were invited to attend the summit, which precedes an informal meeting of the European Council on Friday.
The new platform of the EPC is meeting for the first time. It is intended to help political coordination of all European countries, not only EU member states. The aim is to support political dialogue and cooperation while dealing with common interests in strengthening security, stability and prosperity in Europe.
The platform was proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron in May.
The Czech presidency said that no formal statement or conclusions were expected at the end of the EPC meeting.
In total, 44 countries were invited, including all 27 EU member states, six Western Balkan countries (Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro), and the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein). Also invited were Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom and Turkey.
Out of the 44 countries’ representatives invited to the summit, only Danish PM Mette Frederiksen will not attend, according to Stepan Cerny, deputy head of the Government Office’s European section. He added that Frederiksen will not come for domestic political reasons, without elaborating further. She will, however, be present at the European Council meeting on Friday.
Ukraine will be represented by PM Denys Shmyhal at the summit. Representatives of Russia and Belarus, which supports the Russian aggression, have not been invited, Cerny said.
The Lidovky.cz server previously reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be attending the meeting, quoting the Turkish ambassador to Prague, Egemen Bagis.
The British website Politico wrote that British Prime Minister Liz Truss would also attend the summit. It was subsequently confirmed that Czech PM Petr Fiala would meet Truss for talks in Prague’s Kramar Villa at 11am on Thursday, before the start of the summit, to discuss Ukraine and also Czech-British and EU-British cooperation
On Friday, the heads of states and prime ministers will discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the military and financial aid efforts, as well as the energy and economic situation in Europe.
Cerny would not specify in what order the foreign representatives would arrive in the Czech Republic. “For security reasons, this information will probably only be known on Thursday,” he said.
Cerny said around 2,500 foreign guests would be arriving in Prague, half of them journalists. He recommended that Prague residents avoid Evropska street, west of the city centre, as it will be used by the motorcades bringing politicians from the airport to the centre of Prague.
“Nevertheless, Prague will not be closed in any way. We are ‘closing’ only the Prague Castle complex, but even its immediate surroundings will remain unrestricted,” Cerny said.
