LONDON – British Prime Minister Liz Truss will take part in the first meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Prague next month, several media outlets reported yesterday.
This new forum is the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and aims to provide a broad platform for political dialogue and cooperation as the continent grapples with the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Britain left the European Union (EU) at the beginning of 2020 and Truss had not confirmed whether she would attend the summit on October 6, after taking office earlier this month.
When she was foreign minister, Truss angered the EU by proposing to scrap parts of the post-Brexit trade deal governing Northern Ireland.
Truss decided to attend because energy and migration, on the meeting’s agenda, were among her priorities for governing and required cooperation with other European leaders, Britain’s Press Association reported.
She even went so far as to suggest that Britain could host a meeting of the nascent club, not just attend the October 6 gathering in the Czech Republic, according to the Politico site.
Truss is facing a backlash at home after her government announced a package of tax cuts and borrowing that saw the pound tank and the central bank step in to calm the markets.
As foreign minister, Truss stated her scepticism of Macron’s project, proposed in May.
She said previously that she preferred to stick to existing structures, namely Nato and the G7.
Late convert to Brexit
A late convert to the Brexit cause, Truss often struck a vitriolic tone towards the EU.
She was the architect of the law aimed at overriding the post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal, which has been a source of tensions with Brussels.
According to a European official, 44 countries have been invited to the first meeting of the EPC.
The invitation letter to the leaders of the bloc’s 27 members and candidate or neighbouring countries was sent from European Council President Charles Michel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, whose country holds the rotating EU Council presidency.
In addition to the 27 EU member states, the leaders of Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as Britain, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, Moldova, Iceland, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein are invited.
The first meeting, to be attended by Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will be held at the level of heads of state and government on October 6 in Prague on the eve of a summit of the 27-nation bloc on October 7.
The EU insists the body is not an alternative to the bloc’s enlargement. – AFP, September 30, 2022
