Facing war on its own soil, an ever-growing migration challenge, and a European-wide cost-of-living crisis, the last few years have been difficult for the European neighbourhood. More recently, high leadership turnover, electoral shocks, and the rise of right-wing nationalist parties have further rocked European stability. Established in 2022, the European Political Community (EPC) was designed to meet some of those challenges, by strengthening cooperation and policy coordination across Europe, beyond the EU.
Later this week, the EPC will commence its fourth summit, this time hosted by the UK. Questions have, and will continue to, linger over the efficacy of the EPC. Will the summit’s ambitions around democracy, migration and energy security, come to fruition? Or will the EPC simply be mired in bureaucracy, political grandstanding and division?