Written by Rebecca Torpey.
On 18 July, over 40 European leaders gathered for the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC). It followed a series of international summits in the preceding weeks, including a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and a G7 summit, plus two European Council meetings. Conflicts on the European continent and in its neighbourhood, as well as the upcoming United States presidential elections and their potential ramifications were most likely at the forefront of leaders’ minds. European unity in its support for Ukraine was the overarching theme, alongside three roundtable topics: migration, energy, and defending and securing democracy. The reset of the relationship between the United Kingdom and its European counterparts was also a clear ambition of the newly elected UK government, hosting the event. As with the previous EPC meetings, no concrete deliverables or statements were announced at the end of the summit.
1. Background
The EPC’s fourth summit meeting took place on 18 July 2024 in the United Kingdom (UK), at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, two weeks after the UK general election. It was French President Emmanuel Macron who originally proposed the idea, on 9 May 2022, of developing a forum for political dialogue between European countries. It was clarified at the first EPC that the intention of the informal platform was to foster discussion between peers at the highest level and build cooperation on issues of concern for the European continent. No declarations are therefore released after EPC meetings.
The EPC has no official budget or secretariat, with the host country taking on the majority of the organisational duties. In addition, tangible results and deliverables are limited, leading some to doubt the usefulness of the forum. Some academics have argued that establishing bureaucratic structures would increase transparency and differentiate the EPC from other European institutions. Others have suggested its informality and lack of institutionalisation have allowed the EPC to fill a gap. It has been reported, however, that European leaders want the EPC to remain informal.
EPC summits are held on a bi-annual basis, hosted alternately by a European Union (EU) and a non-EU country. The next EPC meeting is due to be hosted on 7 November 2024 by Hungary, which currently holds the rotating EU Council Presidency. However, a number of EU countries have downgraded their participation or even considered boycotting informal Council and European Council meetings chaired by Hungary following the ‘peace missions’ and international diplomacy carried out by Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, without prior EU coordination. However, the EPC is not an EU forum. Therefore, even if the boycott and/or downgrading is still ongoing, it does not guarantee that the EPC meeting would be impacted in the same way. Albania is expected to host the sixth EPC summit, during the first half of 2025.
In October 2022, the inaugural meeting of the EPC took place in Prague – the day before Czechia also hosted an informal European Council meeting in Prague Castle. The main discussion topics were peace and security, energy, and economic issues. The European leaders were also forthright about their unity in condemning Russia’s war on Ukraine and expressing support for Ukraine.
In June 2023, the second EPC meeting was hosted by Moldova, a country strongly affected by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Peace and security, and energy and interconnectivity were the two main agenda points. However, peace and security was the clear focus of the meeting, which took place in Bulboaca, a few kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
In October 2023, the third meeting of the EPC took place in Granada, Spain, continuing the trend of the host alternating between the EU country holding the rotating presidency of the Council and a non-EU country. During this meeting, European leaders discussed digitalisation, energy, and conflicts in Europe; they also emphasised their unity in support of Ukraine.
2. Participation
Leaders from across Europe (with the exception of Russia and Belarus) were invited to participate in the fourth EPC summit. Over 40 heads of state or government took part in this EPC, including 24 EU Member States. Azerbaijan, which did not attend the EPC meeting in Granada, took part this time around. Again, for the third time, Türkiye did not attend. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, attended the summit and represented the EU. As the vote for the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President was also scheduled for 18 July on the European Parliament’s plenary agenda, von der Leyen was not present at the summit.
For the first time, representatives of NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe attended the EPC. According to a UK government press release, the participation of these organisations was designed to demonstrate ‘the importance of unity in response to the arc of conflict and instability inside and near Europe’s borders that affects the UK and the continent’s interests equally’. Broadening participation to other international organisations may also have arisen from the desire of the previous UK government to limit the EU institutions’ role.
3. Meeting format
The summit began with a plenary opened by host Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In his address, Starmer reaffirmed that the UK would stand with Ukraine as long as it takes and touched on the topics of the upcoming roundtables. Starmer also signalled that he wanted to reset the EU-UK relationship, stating that by working together EU countries ‘are a powerful force for good’ across the European continent. Then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressed European leaders, underlining the importance of European unity in the face of Russia’s attempts to create division and – without directly naming him – criticising Orbán’s recent ‘peace missions’ to Moscow and Beijing. European leaders then gathered for the family photo – a tradition at such summits.
The opening plenary was followed by three roundtables on: i) migration; ii) energy; and iii) defending and securing democracy. The roundtable model had already been used successfully at the previous EPC meetings as well as at the EU-African Union Summit in 2022. In contrast with previous EPC summits, the discussion at the roundtables was guided by key questions. Those questions had been prepared by government representatives (i.e. sherpas) and policy analysts during three expert meetings, co-organised by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office as well as the UK Mission to the EU.
Addressing European leaders at the closing plenary, the UK Prime Minister – building on his earlier comments about resetting EU-UK relationships – welcomed the rapprochement that had occurred at the summit. European leaders also attended a reception hosted by King Charles III in Blenheim Palace’s Long Library.
In addition, a number of smaller meetings were held in the margins of the summit. Charles Michel, Kier Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu met to discuss how their countries could strengthen their cooperation in order to support Moldova on its road to a more secure and prosperous future. On the sidelines of the EPC summit it was also announced that Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, had signed a defence and security agreement.
4. Summit hosts
The UK hosted the fourth EPC (the second time it had been hosted by a non-EU Member State) just two weeks after a general election that brought Starmer’s Labour party into government in the UK for the first time in 14 years. This provided an opportune moment for the new British Prime Minister to meet numerous European leaders, with Starmer describing the summit as ‘political speed-dating’.
Previous EPC summits had provided the host countries with an opportunity to showcase a topic of importance to them. Although it was not an official item on the agenda, Starmer emphasised that his focus was on resetting the UK’s relations with other European countries. This new chapter in EU-UK relations was apparent in Starmer’s prioritisation of bilateral meetings with the UK’s two closest neighbours. On the eve of the EPC, Starmer hosted the Irish Taoiseach, Simon Harris, for dinner at his country residence – the first official visitor he has met as Prime Minister. During the evening of the EPC, Starmer then hosted a bilateral dinner with President Macron. Starmer’s opening address was further evidence of a new UK attitude towards its European counterparts: ‘We want to work with all of you…To reset relationships…Rediscover our common interest…And renew the bonds of trust and friendship’; his address built on the King’s speech in the UK Parliament the previous day, which stressed that the new UK government would ‘reset the relationship with European partners’. In a doorstep interview, Charles Michel stated that ‘on the EU side we are ready to cooperate much more with the United Kingdom’. There have also been reports of a potential bilateral summit between the EU and UK, and at the EPC, Michel indicated to reporters that ‘It’d be good if this is possible in the future to have a bilateral summit so that we can put in place a clear framework for strategic cooperation between the United Kingdom and the EU’.
5. Key discussion topics
While there were three roundtable agenda topics, the war in Ukraine was the overarching issue that permeated all European leaders’ discussions. In his opening address, Starmer stated ‘So our first task here today is to confirm our steadfast support for Ukraine, to unite once again behind those values that we cherish and to say, we will face down aggression on this continent – together’. The importance of supporting Ukraine was also reflected in that fact that President Zelenskyy was given the floor to address European leaders right after Starmer at the opening plenary session.
Migration
The EPC roundtable on migration was led by Italy and Albania. In his doorstep interview, Michel stated that migration was a global challenge. As part of the reset in relations with the EU, one of the key areas for potential cooperation is illegal immigration. The UK reportedly wanted to discuss asylum-seekers crossing the Channel and an EU-wide returns agreement. In addition, Starmer stated that the UK had to tackle the ‘drivers of migration’ with its partners.
Defending and securing democracy
The roundtable on defending and securing democracy was led by France and Moldova. Both countries want to launch an EPC-level network to combat disinformation and foreign interference in Europe. When addressing the European Parliament in plenary on the day of her re-election, President von der Leyen announced that the Commission would propose a ‘European democracy shield’ – a structure dedicated to countering foreign information manipulation and interference. With Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine still on-going, discussions on the threat from Russia as well as mutual defence and security were at the core of EPC discussions. Security and defence is another area on which the UK government seems keen to increase cooperation with the EU. An EU-UK security pact was reportedly discussed at the NATO summit in Washington the week before.
Energy
The discussion on energy connectivity was led by the EU and Montenegro. Building energy resilience, a topic which has received increased attention at European Council level since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, was an important point of focus at this roundtable. European leaders also discussed new sanctions against 11 vessels that have been identified as carriers of Russian oil. European leaders also touched upon preparations for Ukraine’s energy needs in the upcoming winter.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Outcome of the European Political Community meeting in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, on 18 July 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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