Factbox-Who’s on the EPC summit in Prague, and what are they discussing? By Reuters

By John Chalmers

(Reuters) – The inaugural assembly of the European Political Neighborhood (EPC) takes place in Prague on Thursday, bringing collectively leaders from 44 nations of the continent, together with the 27 member states of the European Union.

WHAT IS THE IDEA BEHIND THE EPC?

The brand new pan-European grouping was an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, who sees it as a chance to construction dialogue on an equal footing between EU members and non-members on points that confront all of them.

The EPC contains a number of international locations ready to hitch the EU and the one one ever to depart the bloc, the UK, and it brings collectively nations on shores stretching from the Caucasus to the North Sea and the Mediterranean.

A key goal is to embrace EU candidate international locations which might be dropping endurance ready for membership of the bloc, and in doing so counter makes an attempt by Russia and China to achieve affect within the continent’s southern and jap fringes.

The thought can be to maintain Britain, a serious army energy, inside a European discussion board following its exit from the EU.

WHAT ISSUES WILL THE EPC SUMMIT ADDRESS?

The half-day assembly on the Prague Citadel will begin with roundtable discussions on threats to peace and safety, and on the crises Europe faces on power, local weather, the financial system and immigration. The leaders will then come collectively within the night over dinner to overview their conclusions.

EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell stated the gathering would spotlight Moscow’s worldwide isolation over the struggle in Ukraine, and was “a means of searching for a brand new order with out Russia”.

No formal communique is predicted after the summit.

There might be a flurry of bilateral conferences on the sidelines of the summit.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s resolution to attend may facilitate a reset of ties between Brussels and London which were frayed by post-Brexit wrangling over Northern Eire.

WILL IT WORK AS A FORUM?

Borrell stated in a weblog forward of the assembly that readability continues to be wanted on the EPC’s core rationale, its ultimate membership, its relationship with the EU, the way it ought to take selections and even whether or not it ought to have a funds of its personal.

A constitution of EPC rules may finally be drawn up.

Nevertheless, some have already written off the EPC as simply one other speaking store that may battle to agree on concrete coverage deliverables.

EU officers helped organise the primary assembly, and whereas Brussels is cautious that the EPC will seem like an offshoot of the bloc if it continues to take the lead, getting issues completed can be tougher if it would not.

Sceptics level out that there are simply too many countries across the EPC desk, a number of – equivalent to Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Greece and Turkey – which might be conventional rivals, and an excessive amount of range of tradition and politics to maintain them united.

French officers retort that the G20 is simply as numerous and manages to agree on points equivalent to worldwide finance guidelines.

WILL THERE BE REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE EPC?

There are tentative plans to carry conferences of the EPC twice a 12 months, and lots of anticipate Moldova or Britain to host the subsequent ones. Future EPC conferences may very well be held amongst ministers of the member states, not simply their leaders.