| 1st European Political Community Summit | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg) Plenary session of the 1st EPC Summit in Prague | |
| Host country | Czech Republic |
| Date | 6 October 2022 |
| Cities | Prague |
| Venues | Prague Castle |
| Participants | 44 states |
| Chair | Petr Fiala,Prime Minister of the Czech Republic |
| Follows | inaugural |
| Precedes | 2nd |
| Website | EU Council |
TheFirst European Political Community Summit was the inauguralmeeting of theEuropean Political Community held on 6 October 2022 inPrague,Czech Republic. It was attended by the heads of state or government of forty-fourEuropean countries.[1]Russia andBelarus were not invited, while arrangements forAndorra,Monaco andSan Marino were yet to be finalized.
The stated aims of the summit were as follows:
The summit took place on 6 October 2022 and was structured as follows:[2][3]
The summit was followed by an informal meeting of theEuropean Council which took place the next day also at Prague Castle.
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The followingheads of state/heads of government participated in the summit:[4]
According to a press release issued after the summit, the main focus of discussions was in regard to security, the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoingenergy crisis in Europe. It was also agreed that thefollowing summit will be held in the spring of 2023 inMoldova and would focus on securing key infrastructure such as pipelines, cables, and satellites; stepping up the fight against cyberattacks, creating a support fund for Ukraine, working out a common, pan-European energy policy and looking into the possibility of having more university and student exchanges.[5]
At the summit,Armenian Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan andAzeri PresidentIlham Aliyev met in an attempt to resolve the long runningNagorno-Karabakh conflict and the recentArmenia–Azerbaijan border crisis. Following the meeting, the two parties re-affirmed their commitment to upholding theUnited Nations Charter and theAlma-Ata Protocol, through which they recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. They also agreed to the deployment of aEuropean Union ledmission to be deployed on the Armenian side of their shared border for a period of two months, starting in October 2022 with a view to build confidence and to contribute to the border delimitation process.[6][7] This mission ultimately led to the deployment of a longer termEuropean Union Mission in Armenia.
At the summit, theUnited Kingdom agreed to re-engage with theNorth Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) which it had previously left in January 2020.[8][9][10] At a fringe event, British Prime Minister Liz Truss committed to joining thePermanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and itsMilitary Mobility programme.[11][12][13] The summit also resulted in a resetting of the relations between the UK and France. During bilateral talks at the summit, Liz Truss and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron reaffirmed the strong and historic ties between their two countries and the two agreed to hold a UK-France Summit in 2023.[14][12] Prior to the summit, Truss had stated that "the jury was out" on whether Macron was a friend or foe, however during the summit Truss called Macron a friend.[15]
At the summit, the leaders ofAlbania,Serbia andIreland suggested the idea of having a much more integrated university policy.[16]
Media related to1st European Political Community Summit at Wikimedia Commons
