On the eve of a severe winter, Europe needs good news. Last spring, Emmanuel Macron had the idea of founding a new institution, the European Political Community (EPC), which should be a kind of European G20.
It is true that Europeans need more inclusive and more European discussion forums.
The CPE brings together almost all European countries, from Iceland to Azerbaijan, via Switzerland, Lichtenstein, the Balkan countries, sulphurous Turkey and of course Ukraine.
The heads of state and government from 43 European countries therefore gathered today in Prague for the first meeting of the European Political Community.
Since several countries disagree among themselves, the goals of the meeting are weak. We will be glad that everyone is talking without making a scene, even if an agreement on energy could be announced.
In the long term, the European heads of state and government want to set up cooperation mechanisms in the areas of security, education, energy and climate.
Obviously, Russia is the biggest absentee from this CPE. She will not enter it as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power.
advantages
At the moment, the CPE has two advantages.
First, it will allow European leaders to meet twice a year, which will strengthen ties between European leaders.
Second, it will help combat Putin’s simplistic propaganda that pretends that Russia is not a Western country, even though its culture, history and population, concentrated west of the Urals, make it a Western and European country.
The CPE has big ambitions, especially when it comes to security.
If Donald Trump and his Republicans win the US congressional elections in November, or worse, the 2024 presidency, the US will no longer be a reliable partner.
The CPE represents the hope for a larger Europe. A larger Europe that could more easily compete with China and form a strong pole of international relations.
nesting doll
This larger Europe would look like a nesting doll. In the middle, some countries, including Germany and France, would really be in control. All around, the other countries of the European Union would form a strong group of influence. Eventually, the remaining European countries would form a kind of protectorate of the European Union, an airlock through which European countries wishing to join the European Union would inevitably have to pass.
In reality, this European architecture already exists. The CPE just further formalizes it.
The biggest problem will be accommodating the few pro-Russian countries whose populations are most permeable to Putin’s propaganda.
However, Putin’s defeats help the European side, because nobody wants to be associated with a loser.
Many powers have an interest in the failure of the CPE. At the moment it’s mostly a new toy.
