The European Political Community

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After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Europe suddenly woke up to the realization that peace on the continent was far from guaranteed. With this war, Putin was hoping to sow division in the EU and NATO, but in fact his effort is achieving just the opposite.

The European Political Community (EPC), an initiative first launched by French president Macron in May this year, is meeting for the first time this week in Prague. The leaders of more than 40 countries (EU member states and those outside it such as UK, Israel, Turkey, Norway and Ukraine) are ready to start a new integration process. What's needed here, Macron argues, is "a new space for political cooperation in security, in the energy sector, in transportation, in investment, infrastructure, the free movement of people and especially our youth".

In the meantime though, there are also suspicions that the new forum is an attempt to stop EU enlargement and offer a "second class" ticket to some countries. However, it is debatable how justified these concerns are, especially since the EPO also includes countries that have no intentions and ambitions of joining the EU at all.

The meeting in Prague was supported by German Chancellor Scholz. In his words, the idea is to create a "platform for political coordination" between EU countries and their neighbors. The European Political Community is taking place against the background of the eight-month-long Russian invasion of Ukraine and in the conditions of increased pressure for Ukraine's accession to the EU, and more urgently, NATO.

Macron seems concerned that Europe is at risk of becoming a bystander in history and losing control of its destiny in the 21st century. "The war in Ukraine and the legitimate aspiration of Ukraine's people, just like that of Moldova and Georgia, to join the EU, encourages us to rethink our geography and the organization of our continent," he said back in May in a speech outlining his idea. Now this week's meeting is being opened with a speech by Ukrainian president Zelensky, who of course will insist on accelerated membership in NATO and the EU.

Dutch PM Rutte and Albania's leader Edi Rama published a joint position in the Brussels edition of Politico: "We are united - not only the EU members, but all European countries. On the one hand, we see great potential for expanding and integrating our continent's energy and transport networks; and in the European political community we will be able to discuss how to work towards an interconnected and climate-neutral energy system in Europe. Prioritizing investment in European energy production will further help ensure full independence from Russian energy exports, while all European countries must of course work to address rising energy prices in the short term."

It's noteworthy that the new European club will not offer financial support or participation in European economic programs and no official statement will be published after the meeting. The goal, if this summit goes well, is for the leaders to establish a habit of meeting at least once or twice a year. British PM Liz Truss is also attending the forum, with Britain even offering to host the next meeting, which Macron wants to take place within 6 months. Turkish president Erdogan, who continues to threaten Greece, will also have his political and economic priorities at the meeting.

The fact that the EPC also includes countries outside the European continent as well as former EU members sends a clear message that the format is not exactly a gateway to the EU. The meeting features countries such as Norway and UK - the former has no intention of joining the EU and the latter has left the EU - as well as countries such as Serbia and Montenegro, which have long sought to become part of the bloc. The latter fear that the EPC will give the EU an excuse to never really open the door for them.

But the idea of the EPC should not be to delay and replace EU enlargement. Granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova in June was an important decision. The overcoming of the Bulgarian blockade to start membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia also had a strong political message (long story).

"Their joining the EU is in our interest," German Chancellor Scholz commented in his recent speech on the future of the union. He said he was firmly "committed to enlargement", meaning the countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia - but also with a view of Ukraine, Moldova and "Georgia further down the line".

But despite the huge financial, political, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine, "we all know perfectly well that the process that would allow them to join will actually take several years and most probably several decades," Macron commented. For Ukraine, participation in the European political community will rather mean a sense of belonging to the European family. Ukraine will still receive significant help to prepare for long-term EU membership, as well as access to cohesion funds if it joins the single market before becoming a full EU member.

Sure, in these turbulent times, the European leaders must do everything possible to send a positive signal from this summit. But let's face it, without more efforts to revitalize the enlargement process, the European Political Community would remain just another empty format, and more countries would get disillusioned and probably start looking for options elsewhere.