EU invites Türkiye, UK, Ukraine to European Community summit

BRUSSELS

The EU said on Sept. 22 that Britain, Ukraine and Türkiye were invited to attend a first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague next month.

The idea for the new forum, the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron, is to provide a broad platform for political dialogue and cooperation as the continent grapples with the fallout of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain - which left the EU at the beginning of 2020 - has not said if she will attend the summit on October 6 after taking office earlier this month.

Truss angered the EU when she was foreign minister by proposing to scrap parts of the post-Brexit trade deal governing Northern Ireland.

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not confirmed his attendance.

An EU official said that initial "outreach meetings" with invitees had gone "very well".

The 27 EU nations will automatically be invited.

Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, and the six Western Balkan countries are also being asked to attend.