On the eve of a harsh winter, Europe needs good news. Last spring, Emmanuel Macron had the idea to launch a new institution, the European Political Community (EPC), which aims to be a kind of European G-20.
It is true that Europeans need more inclusive European forums for discussion.
CPE brings together almost all European countries, from Iceland to Azerbaijan, through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Balkan countries, sulfur Turkey and of course Ukraine.
That is why the leaders of 43 European countries gathered today in Prague for the first meeting of the European Political Group.
Since many countries do not agree among themselves, the objectives of the meeting are weak. We’d be glad everyone was talking, no one making a scene, even if an energy deal was announced.
In the long term, European leaders want to establish cooperation mechanisms in the areas of security, education, energy and climate.
Obviously, Russia is the main absentee from this CPE. It will not enter it as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power.
Advantages
Currently, 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 fight Putin’s simplistic propaganda pretending that Russia is not a Western country, when its culture, history, and population are concentrated west of the Urals, making it truly a Western and European country.
CPE has great ambitions, particularly in the field of security.
That if Donald Trump and his Republicans win the November elections for the US Congress, or even the presidency of 2024, the United States will cease to be a reliable partner.
CPE represents hope in Greater Europe. Greater Europe that can more easily compete with China and which can constitute a strong pole of international relations.
nesting doll
This grand europe would look like a nesting doll. In the middle, there will be a few countries, including Germany and France, that will actually dominate. Around the world, other EU countries will form a powerful group of influence. Finally, the remaining European countries will form a kind of EU protectorate, a pressure airlock through which European countries wishing to join the EU must necessarily pass.
In fact, this European architecture already exists. CPE only formalizes it.
The biggest problem will be the absorption of Putin’s propaganda by the few pro-Russian countries whose populations are the most porous.
However, Putin’s defeats help the European side, because no one wants to associate himself with a loser.
Many forces have an interest in the failure of CPE. For now, it’s mostly a new game.
