The European Political Community: Looking back, thinking ahead

In just three years, the European Political Community has matured from a high-level gathering born of crisis to a living, breathing statement of geopolitical will. Originally established as a continental show of solidarity with Ukraine, it has developed significantly since 2022, assuming new roles and proving its ability to convene leaders from across Europe – despite initial doubts around its added value. 

The seventh EPC was held in Copenhagen on 2 October, following a week of disruption and political alarm prompted by multiple drone incursions across Denmark and beyond. The gathering represented an ideal opportunity to take stock of the EPC’s evolution, assess where the ‘Community’ goes next – and what that could mean for the other actors on the stage, most notably the EU. 

In parallel to a new BIG report on the EPC, the authors Luuk van Middelaar and Antoine Michon were joined by Her Excellency Daniela Morari, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, and David Oppenheimer, Deputy Head of Cabinet to the President of the European Council, to evaluate the EPC’s potential place in Europe’s political and security architecture. The public event took place at BIG on 23 September – the week prior to the summit.

In his remarks, Mr Oppenheimer touched on the informal and inclusive nature of EPC meetings as reasons for its continued relevance, observing that leaders highly value the opportunity to meet and speak freely across institutional divides, unencumbered by the ‘machine of preparation’ or the obligation to produce ‘deliverables’. He noted that the high attendance and continued interest in hosting future EPC summits were testament to the format’s appeal, and that the venue itself can be a potent political message from the entire continent; the June 2023 summit in Chisinau in particular was cited as a ‘sign of solidarity’. 

Ms Morari, meanwhile, also spoke with conviction on the importance of the EPC for Moldova – a small non-EU state which is nonetheless at the heart of Europe’s ongoing security challenges. In the Ambassador’s estimation, the EPC represents a rare opportunity for Moldova to be heard by Europe’s leaders on an equal footing, citing the exchange of lessons learned on threats to elections, as well as working groups on Moldova’s security and energy costs convened in the margins of previous summits. The Ambassador also evoked the usefulness of the EPC for Moldova’s civil service and diplomatic corps, familiarising them with the modalities of high-level intracontinental dialogue: ‘for others it is a summit – for us it is the summit’. 

BIG will continue its evaluation of the EPC as a common forum for Europe’s leadership over the course of future summits, for which hosting duties have been agreed until at least 2028.