| 3rd European Political Community Summit | |
| Country: | Spain |
| Date: | 5 October 2023 |
| Venues: | Alhambra |
| Cities: | Granada |
| Participants: | 45 states |
| Chairperson: | Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain |
| Follows: | 2nd |
| Precedes: | 4th |
| Website: | 3rd European Political Community Summit |
The Third European Political Community Summit was a meeting of the European Political Community held on 5 October 2023 at the in Granada, Spain.[1] [2] [3]
As had been announced by the host, Spain, the main focus of the summit was intended to be on "the current conflicts affecting the continent, the aim being to take advantage of the attendance of most European leaders to re-establish their unity vis-à-vis Russia's aggression against Ukraine".[4]
Spain had been announced as the host of the third EPC summit in October 2022.[5] The date and the venue for the summit were announced in February 2023.[6]
An informal meeting of the European Council took place the following day at the same venue.[7]
The summit took place on 5 October 2023 at the and was structured as follows (CEST):[8]
In the evening, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia welcomed the summit attendees and their companions at the Alhambra's Court of the Lions where the official group photo was taken. Afterwards, guests walked to the nearby Partal gardens to attend a flamenco performance and to the Parador where the closing dinner took place.
The summit was attended by heads of state or government of the states participating in the European Political Community along with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament.[9] On the eve of the summit, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced he would not be able to attend due to an illness.[10] Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev did not attend due to a perceived "anti-Azerbaijan atmosphere" following the recent Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.[11] Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was invited to attend by the Spanish government.[12]
| Non-EU member |
See main article: Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. A meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was scheduled be held at the summit as was the case at the two previous summits.[13] This was expected to be the first meeting between the two following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and resulting flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.[14] However, on the eve of the summit, Aliyev announced that he would not attend due to what he described as an "anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere".[15] [11] Pashinyan had hoped to present a potential peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the meeting.[16] A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani leadership indicated that Aliyev was willing to meet with Pashinyan in Brussels in the near future to resume dialogue.[17] In Aliyev's absence, a meeting between Pashinyan and European Council president Charles Michel, French president Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor Olaf Scholz took place instead.[18] [19] During a meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and Nikol Pashinyan, von der Leyen stated "We reiterated our condemnation of the military operation by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia. Armenia and the EU are bound by shared political values and their commitment to a rules-based international order. In these difficult times, the EU and Armenia stand shoulder to shoulder. We are committed to further strengthen EU-Armenia relations". President von der Leyen also informed of the preparations for a joint EU-US event to support Armenia.[20]
Following the summit, it was announced that the EU would host a meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev before the end of October 2023.[21]
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was invited to attend the summit by the Spanish government. Tsikhanouskaya held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Armenia,[22] the Czech Republic,[23] Latvia,[24] Spain,[25] and with Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy.[26]
France proposed that access to the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre's Cybersecurity Emergency Fund should be available to all EPC participating states.[27] France signed a agreement with the governments of Montenegro and Slovenia to establish a joint cyber resilience capacity-building training institute to be based in Montenegro.[27]
Michel and Von der Leyen praised Europe's joint efforts in energy security. EU member states together with Norway, Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia agreed to work together within the EU Energy Platform to improve energy efficiency and further harness renewable sources of energy.[28]
See also: Potential enlargement of the European Union. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez stressed the importance of maintaining unity across the continent. Josep Borrell said he was optimistic about the European Commission granting EU candidate status to Georgia.[29] The leaders of Hungary,[30] and Lithuania stressed the importance of Georgia's accession for regional stability.[31] Coinciding with the summit, the European Parliament urged that EU accession talks with Moldova should open before the end of the year.[32]
See main article: Kosovo–Serbia relations. Given the strained relations between Kosovo and Serbia, stemming from the Banjska attack, it is anticipated that the tense dynamic between the two nations will be a prominent subject of discussion. European leaders are endeavoring to facilitate a meeting between the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.[33] Chancellor Olaf Scholz affirmed that the heightened tensions between the two states will also be addressed on Thursday and Friday during the summit scheduled to take place in Granada.[34] President Osmani has declined a meeting with the President of Serbia, asserting that sanctions against Serbia must precede any further dialogue.[35]
The leaders of Italy, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France, Albania, and the European Commission held a meeting about migration on the fringes of the summit. In a statement released afterwards, they pledged to take action to tackle human trafficking by strengthening external borders to prevent unauthorized crossings, increase patrols and search and rescue operations, harmonize criminal legislation to fight against people smugglers and support sustainable development through education, job creation and climate action to help reduce migration.[36]
France stated its intention to push for the expansion of the "DiscoverEU" youth mobility scheme to be expanded to include all EPC participating states.[27]
Rishi Sunak's behavior
United Kingdom prime minister Rishi Sunak caused controversy a few days before the summit by insisting that the agreed agenda be scrapped and the sole focus be migration.[37] After failing to get the scheduled agenda scrapped, Sunak co-hosted a fringe meeting on migration with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.[38] [19] Sunak caused further controversy by refusing to participate in the summit's closing press conference, resulting in it being cancelled.[39] He also snubbed the Spanish Royal family by refusing to attend the post summit banquet hosted by King Felipe VI of Spain, a second cousin once removed of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.[40]
