UK Prime Minister Liz Truss's decision to join the inaugural summit of a pan-European grouping this week has given a boost to the initiative, a brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron that some have written off already as just another talking shop.
The summit in Prague of the European Political Community will bring together the 27 leaders of the European Union with 17 leaders from the continent currently outside the club, including Britain, Turkey, Norway and Ukraine.
A key aim for Macron is to embrace EU candidate countries that are losing patience waiting for membership of the bloc, and in doing so counter attempts by Russia and China to gain influence in the continent's southern and eastern fringes. The French also think it is important to have a forum to discuss security with Britain, Europe's other big military power, or energy with Norway, which is currently helping Europe wean itself off Russian gas.His proposal was initially seen with suspicion by eastern European countries, and Ukraine in particular, who suspected it was a ploy by France, long reluctant to admit more countries into the EU, to keep them in a sort of "purgatory".
Still it was pleased that Ukraine has come up with proposals on what the EPC should look like, as well as Moldova, which has offered to host the second summit of the grouping.
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