Leaders throughout Europe hailed on Thursday their united entrance towards Russia’s warfare on Ukraine, after gathering in Prague for the inaugural assembly of the European Political Group.

They insisted on frequent values because the new membership of countries met for the occasion, which was billed as a possibility for European leaders to to debate the continent’s challenges.

The inaugural summit of the European Political Group introduced collectively the 27 European Union member international locations, the UK — now outdoors the EU — in addition to aspiring companions within the Balkans and Jap Europe.

Russia was the one main European energy not invited to the gathering at Prague Citadel together with Belarus, its neighbour and supporter within the warfare towards Ukraine.

The battle has fueled an power disaster and excessive inflation which might be wreaking havoc on Europe’s economies.

“Leaders depart this summit with larger collective resolve to face as much as Russian aggression. What we now have seen in Prague is a forceful present of solidarity with Ukraine, and for the rules of freedom and democracy,” mentioned UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Her Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, mentioned “in the event you simply take a look at the attendance right here, you see the significance. The entire European continent is right here, besides two international locations: Belarus and Russia. So it reveals how remoted these two international locations are.”

Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins mentioned the fallout from the warfare is one thing all of them have in frequent.

“It’s affecting all of us within the safety sense, and its affecting all of us by means of our economies, by means of the rising power prices. So the one manner that we are able to deal with that is working collectively, and never simply the European Union. All of the European international locations have to work collectively,” he mentioned.

The summit was initially pitched as a group of democratic nations in response to Russia’s warfare in Ukraine.

However among the heads of state in Prague have questioned the presence of a few of their counterparts together with the Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders, in keeping with an EU official quizzed on the difficulty.

“Many leaders are insisting on values,” the official mentioned, with adherence to the worldwide order and rule of regulation seen as a prerequisite for inclusion on this new discussion board.

The subject of membership and whether or not the EPC ought to subsequently be expanded or as an alternative diminished is predicted to be introduced up in the course of the closing plenary session, the official added.

‘United Nations in Europe’

The warfare in Ukraine dominated the agenda of the primary assembly with Volodymyr Zelenskyy becoming a member of the summit nearly. The Ukrainian chief known as on these gathered within the Czech capital to ramp up sanctions towards Russia and to spice up monetary and navy help to his nation.

He additionally demanded they challenge “safety ensures earlier than we be part of NATO.”

Emmanuel Macron mentioned later that European international locations would ship Ukraine extra navy gear to counter Russia, together with extra French Caesar-type howitzers.

“We’re working certainly on a number of requests, with a number of members of the EU, together with on new Caesars,” French president mentioned.

The 44 leaders additionally mentioned the financial state of affairs, power and local weather, and migration and mobility, in smaller teams earlier than breaking apart for bilateral conferences.

“It’s definitely helpful to have this platform, which can permit us, I hope, to trade in substance on how you can converge a sure variety of actions with a view to defend the pursuits of our residents in all places on the European continent,” European Council President Charles Michel mentioned as he arrived on the Prague Citadel for the summit.

The brand new format was dubbed a “United Nations in Europe” by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and a “historic occasion” by his counterpart in Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir.

“It is attention-grabbing as a result of right here we now have EU leaders and non-EU international locations assembly and actually speaking about European politics, not simply within the EU context. And I feel that is a superb factor coming from Iceland,” she instructed reporters upon arrival.

‘A strategic intimacy’

French President Emmanuel Macron first floated the concept of this group throughout a speech on the finish of the Convention on the Way forward for Europe in Could as Russia’s unprovoked aggression on Ukraine was getting into its third month.

Macron mentioned then that the EU could not be the one manner of structuring the European continent and that it was time to organise Europe with a broader scope. 

European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen additionally known as for this new group throughout her September State of the Union deal with.

To assuage the considerations of Western Balkan counties which were ready within the EU’s wing for years, each Macron and the Fee chief pressured that this new format wouldn’t be a substitute for enlargement.

This was echoed by an EU official this week, who mentioned that discussions with Western Balkans international locations had in recent times targeted solely on the accession course of however that the brand new political group would permit for “broader political discussions” on safety and stability.

“We wish the entire of Europe, not solely the European Union, to pursue a coverage of safety, peace, enlargement, freedom and financial development,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki mentioned on Thursday.

“We wish to assist our neighbours. We all know very nicely that peace all through Europe is dependent upon a protected neighbourhood, so to talk, but additionally within the Western Balkans,” he added.

Macron, for his half, mentioned the purpose of the assembly was to ship a message of unity and to “construct a strategic intimacy” with all European international locations.

“The target is to begin with to share a standard studying of the state of affairs affecting our Europe, to construct a standard technique and subsequently a strategic dialog which till now has probably not existed and which may give rise to divisions. And I hope to provide you with frequent initiatives,” he added.

‘Unity and resolve’

Norway, Switzerland and the UK, which don’t wish to be within the EU, additionally attended. All three have deep financial ties with the EU however have had no alternatives till now to debate wider pan-European points.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss spoke in the course of the opening plenary session, stating that “Europe is dealing with its largest disaster because the Second World Battle. And we now have confronted it along with unity and resolve.”

“We should proceed to face agency – to make sure that Ukraine wins this warfare, but additionally to cope with the strategic challenges that it has uncovered,” she added in keeping with a Downing Avenue assertion.

She then had one-on-one conferences with French President Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Rutte to debate shared points together with power and migration. The UK-France assembly was adopted by a joint assertion, whereas the Dutch chief reportedly described his assembly with Truss as “unbelievable”.

Macron and Michel additionally used the chance to carry a quadrilateral assembly with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as tensions stays excessive within the area following a current bout of lethal hostilities each blame on the opposite.

There was no formal written textual content following the primary assembly of the group. However Macron, the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu took half in a night press convention on the occasion’s conclusion.

Moldova is presently the frontrunner to host the following assembly with Spain and the UK seen organising the next ones, in keeping with an EU official.

Leaders of the 27 EU member states will in the meantime meet alone on Friday for a casual EU council assembly to fine-tune their frequent response to the warfare in Ukraine and its penalties on financial and power markets.

Divisions between the member states over sanctions on Russia and one of the best methods to defend Europeans from spiralling price of residing and power crises have nonetheless began to show deep cracks within the bloc’s unity.