Lunchtime meeting:
On October 6th, leaders from across the continent will gather in Prague in an attempt to flesh out French President Emmanuel Macron’s inchoate vision of a European Political Community (EPC). Although touching on many policy areas, the central component of the EPC concerns foreign and security policy.
In the short term, the new Community could provide a platform to discuss the challenges posed by Russia, which is currently running roughshod over established European political and security norms. Yet the EPC’s supposed goal of providing a ‘halfway house’ for some European countries who seek closer ties with the EU but are not yet ready for full membership is noteworthy, as it highlights the diversity of state actors on the continent. Although Moscow is not currently under consideration for membership in the fledgling organisation, the persistence of political pluralism on the continent raises the question of whether the EPC can eventually provide a pathway to a new and more cooperative European security order after the war in Ukraine.
Should the goal of the EPC be to become a quasi-extension of the EU? Or can visions of Gorbachev’s ‘common European home’ or Mitterand’s ‘European confederation’ be resurrected?
This event is organised in the context of ‘JOINT’, a project which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 959143.
Lunch will start from 12:30 onwards.
