On Monday 4 May, the leaders of around 40 European countries and the Canadian Prime Minister discussed the security of the European continent at the 8th meeting of the European Political Community (EPC).
“In the current geopolitical context, it is increasingly clear that our continent needs a 360-degree vision for its security”, stressed the President of the European Council, António Costa, at the end of the meeting.
“Today’s discussions confirmed that with the growing challenges in the world, there is a need for sincere dialogue and practical decisions to expand peace and stability across regions”, added Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, is symbolic in itself, with the virtual presence of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz, “in line with the peace developments and regional cooperation”, said Nikol Pashinyan. Armenia and Azerbaijan are making progress in their peace process and Yerevan and Ankara are working to normalise their relations.
“The Summit was truly historic”, said a delighted António Costa, who highlighted the participation of Ilham Aliyev, saying that the meeting would “forever be remembered as a summit of peace in the Caucasus brought about by brave political choices and patient diplomatic efforts”. “The story of peace in Europe, in a world where escalation and war seem to dominate is something to be celebrated”, he added, also recalling the EPC participants’ support for Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the Summit, the British Prime Minister announced his country’s intention to join the Ukraine loan (see EUROPE 13861/16).
“Lasting peace, the normalisation of relations, and the opening of borders would not only benefit the region, but would also strengthen connectivity and cooperation across the wider European space and beyond”, explained the Armenian Prime Minister. He said that connectivity was one of the topics discussed by the leaders, along with security and stability, regional cooperation, the fight against hybrid threats, economic resilience, energy, and the green transition.
“No doubt, connectivity is central to economic security, resilience, and long-term stability across the continent. Strengthening interconnections while advancing climate and energy goals was recognised as a shared and common priority”, explained Nikol Pashinyan. He said that discussions between leaders had highlighted the importance of regional cooperation and the potential of open, integrated and connected regions to contribute to closer intercontinental ties.
For his part, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who will be hosting the next EPC meeting in Dublin in November, spoke of the war in the Middle East, “its impact on energy prices and supply, and the cost pressures faced by businesses and families”. “We discussed how to reduce our dependency and how to improve our resilience to better withstand global turbulence. The current energy crisis demonstrates that we simply have to deepen our energy links and invest in interconnections and in our electricity grids”, he explained.
On her arrival at the Summit, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that it was necessary to develop Europe’s domestic energy resources, i.e. “renewable energies and nuclear power, because they are locally produced, cheaper, and reliable”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)