Summits

1st summit - Czechia

Following a proposal by French President Macron and discussions at the European Council on 23-24 June 2022, the EPC took shape as a Summit of Heads of State and Government. To make it coincide with its Presidency of the Council of the EU, Czechia hosted the first Summit in Prague on 6 October 2022. Initially proposed in response to Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine, the speed with which the first summit was organised, and its 100% invitation acceptance rate reflected high political buy-in to the initiative despite the analyst community’s perception that it was cobbled together in very little time.

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Following a proposal by French President Macron and discussions at the European Council on 23-24 June 2022, the EPC took shape as a summit of Heads of State and Government. So as to coincide with its Presidency of the Council of the EU, Czechia hosted the first Summit in Prague on 6 October 2022. Initially proposed in response to Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine, the speed with which the first summit was organised, and its 100% invitation acceptance rate reflected high political buy-in to the initiative despite the analyst community’s perception that it was cobbled together in very little time and with little preordained purpose.

 

The Prague summit was held in two parts. The first part consisted in two roundtables on peace and security in Europe and energy, climate, and the economic situation. The roundtables were followed by a plenary session in the evening when leaders gathered to sum up their days’ work. In addition to the scheduled meetings, many leaders used the summit as an opportunity for bilateral and multilateral meetings. This point was widely lauded: the first Summit allowed non-EU leaders (e.g., UK and Norway) to get facetime with each other and hold unscripted discussions with leaders of EU member states.

 

Following the Summit, President Macron indicated that the EPC could cover the following policy domains moving forward: Protection of critical infrastructure, cooperation against cyber-attacks and disinformation, strengthened regional cooperation (Black Sea, North Sea, Western Balkans), the establishment of a resilience fund for Ukraine, energy policy, and youth policy. Notably missing from his remarks, however, was the focus on migration the UK pushed for during the summit.

 

Initial scepticism expressed by EU enlargement candidates in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe that Macron’s EPC proposal might slow progress on EU accession (even further) seemed to have been dispelled during the Summit. The EPC and the lingering presence of EU enlargement have been de-coupled and EU candidate countries have relished the opportunity to stand together with EU leaders on equal footing while (re-)stating their respective foreign policy priorities.

 

Still unclear, however, is the purpose the EPC should serve beyond the 44-strong Leaders-level photo opportunity – if any. Should there be an ambition to produce Summit statements declaring what brings the 44 together? How might the EPC function in the future if, as commonly understood, there are no current plans to establish a Secretariat? Might the focus eventually shift to concrete projects and, if so, is a high-level platform for political dialogue absolutely necessary? In the spirit of transparency, how should national governments taking part be best held to account for discussions? And lastly, what role might the EU play moving forward, considering significant financial resources it brings to the table and its political clout?

2nd summit - Moldova

Boosted by the presence of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, European leaders united once again under the auspices of the EPC on 1 June 2023 in Bulboaca, Moldova. Although San Marino and Turkey’s delegations dropped out at the last minute, the latter supposedly due to newly re-elected President Erdoğan’s political manoeuvring to form a government, the Summit was hailed a success once again for the strong unity on show in the face of Russia’s senseless war in Ukraine.

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Boosted by the presence of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, European leaders united once again under the auspices of the EPC on 1 June 2023 in Bulboaca, Moldova. Although San Marino and Turkey’s delegations dropped out at the last minute, the latter supposedly due to newly re-elected President Erdoğan’s political manoeuvring to form a government, the Summit was hailed a success once again for the strong unity on show in the face of Russia’s senseless war in Ukraine.

 

EPC Summit MoldovaTrue to its informal, unscripted format, discussions revolved around the priorities of the day. This time, energy, climate, and the economic situation took more of a backseat to issues of security and peace and the EU enlargement agenda of Moldova and Ukraine in particular. Blowing against the political winds that have pushed to open borders to Ukrainian refugees rather than close them to those fleeing conflict and economic crisis in the Global South, the UK played an inconsequential role by signaling (again) where it thought the EPC could present value-added: migration.

 

The results of the second EPC Summit were again of mixed nature: high-level political statements, concrete deliverables (e.g., France agreeing to train Ukrainian jet pilots), and political dialogue regarding Nagorno-Karabakh (as in the 1st Summit) and between Serbia and Kosovo. Of note were a series of measures the EU announced in support of Moldova in the run-up and on the sidelines of the Summit: sanctions against nefarious Moldovan individuals on Putin’s payroll, the delivery of non-lethal military equipment via the European Peace Facility, and more affordable cellular roaming costs between Moldova and the EU, among others.

 

In view of the next Summit in Granada under a Spanish Government that has yet to be voted in, Heads of State and Government must seriously consider what direction they believe the EPC is moving in. If, as seen in Moldova, security and peace becomes an important fil rouge, then Macron’s plan for a thematically wide-ranging EPC that withstands the test of time beyond war in Ukraine is up for question. If, instead, each hosting country is essentially able to steer the agenda of the EPC as it sees fit, then the risk is that it will lose political buy-in at the first disagreement – e.g., potentially the UK’s insistence to focus on migration in the first semester of 2024. For the EPC to build sustainable momentum, it should be accompanied by a civil society driven forum that may help shape its future.

3rd summit - Spain

The third EPC summit took place in Granada, Spain on 5 October 2023 on the eve of the informal European Council meeting of EU heads of state and government on 6 October 2023. Three roundtable discussions on (1) digitalisation, (2) energy, environment and the green transition, and (3) multilateralism and geostrategy were foreseen in order to expand coordination and consultation to the wider European level on priorities of the Spanish rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

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The third EPC summit took place in Granada, Spain on 5 October 2023 on the eve of the informal European Council meeting of EU heads of state and government on 6 October 2023. Three roundtable discussions on (1) digitalisation, (2) energy, environment and the green transition, and (3) multilateralism and geostrategy were foreseen in order to expand coordination and consultation to the wider European level on priorities of the Spanish rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

 

Despite a record turnout of 49 leaders, the EPC Summit suffered from the absence of Turkey’s President Erdoğan, his second in a row, and Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev, the instigator of another armed offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh causing over 100,000 Armenians to flee and require humanitarian assistance. Kosovo’s powerful Prime Minister Albin Kurti also abstained, protesting Serbia’s alleged involvement in the 24 September 2023 attack in northern Kosovo. Kosovo’s President, who holds a largely ceremonial function, attended again instead but this time refused to meet the Serbian President Vučić. The Granada summit was therefore held in a markedly different spirit compared to the EPC summit in Moldova just four months prior.

 

In addition, in a notable turn of rhetoric, attention shifted from supporting Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s unjustified invasion to seeking the EU’s renewed commitment to maintaining that support in light of debt ceiling-related news out of Washington DC that its (primarily military) support could be on the chopping block. Notable was the warm general support to Ukrainian President Zelensky, but the absence of a common statement and concrete initiatives. 

 

Whereas the EPC marked a failure to progress on challenges to Europe’s security and stability, it upped the urgency for EU leaders to show other commitments (cf. Macron’s announcement to bolster cooperation on cyber-crime across Europe) and deliberate the EU’s enlargement framework and the necessary institutional reforms that might require, as well as the EU’s migration pact during the following day’s informal European Council. 

 

Notwithstanding the Spanish Presidency’s attempts to keep migration off the agenda, the UK and Italy set up an unforeseen roundtable to discuss a series of political initiatives with France, Albania and the European Commission on migration. The UK also agreed to deals with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence-sharing and operational co-operation on organised crime.

 

Presumably in response to the UK’s perceived intransigence, Spain abruptly cancelled the final press conference, the expected highlight of the summit for about 700 journalists which was meant to include statements about outcomes of the summit and formally mark the handover of the EPC Presidency to the United Kingdom, which is expected to host the gathering in March 2024. This added to a general sense of the waning impact of the EPC.

4th summit - United Kingdom

The fourth summit, hosted by the UK’s first Labour government in 14 years led by Keir Starmer, took place at Winston Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace. After an underwhelming summit in Granada, this summit was perhaps the EPC's last chance to prove its added value before what is feared to be 'The Viktor Orbán Show' when Hungary hosts in Autumn 2024. And it mostly did, despite a significant decrease in initiatives, or "calls to action" compared to previous editions.

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The fourth summit, hosted by the UK’s first Labour government in 14 years led by Keir Starmer, took place at Winston Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace. After a disappointing summit in Granada, this summit was perhaps the EPC’s last chance to prove its added value before what is feared to be an underwhelming display of pan-European unity when Hungary hosts in Autumn 2024. And it mostly did, despite a significant decrease in initiatives, or “calls to action” compared to previous editions.

 

The leaders of NATO, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe joined the summit for the first time, perhaps opening the door for future non-European country participation at future summits. Notably absent for a third time in a row was Turkish President Erdoğan. Other Heads of Government sending regrets were Austria, Cyprus, and Sweden, who regardless endorsed the EPC’s first ever multilateral output, a ‘call to action’ regarding Russia’s shadow fleet of sea vessels. For the second time in a row, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attended the EPC summit, a stark rebuke of Belarus’ complicity in Russia’s war of aggression. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola were also indisposed, busy with the European Commission President investiture vote taking place the same day.

 

Following a Ukraine- and security-focused plenary discussion, participants broke out into three roundtable discussions – taking up around one-quarter of the scheduled programme – centred around (1) defending and securing democracy, particularly as regards foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), (2) energy connectivity, and (3) migration. There were two FIMI roundtables, one co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the other co-chaired by European Council President Charles Michel together with Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović. The energy connectivity roundtable discussion was co-chaired by Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre while the migration roundtable was co-chaired by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

 

The majority of the summit was then dedicated to informal bilateral and mini-lateral discussions, with the UK also seizing the occasion to announce a desired reset in UK-EU relations and renewed emphasis on development cooperation partnerships with non-EU countries in Europe. Uncertainty abounded following the summit whether Hungary’s EPC presidency in autumn 2024 might be boycotted, but the EPC secured a post-Hungary future with Albania volunteering to host in Spring 2025. Though EPC participants fear an undue emphasis on EU enlargement during this summit, a quartet coordination mechanism comprising the UK, Hungary, Albania, and Denmark has been set in place to provide continuity to thematic discussions.