by Nathan Morley, Guo Mingfang

NICOSIA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Prague on Thursday hosted the inaugural gathering of the "European Political Community (EPC)," bringing together 27 leaders of the European Union (EU) and those from non-EU nations and regions.

According to an EU statement, the EPC concept is envisioned to gather countries and regions outside the EU that share the bloc's values on business, security, the rule of law and politics.

French President Emmanuel Macron first proposed the idea for the EPC in May. Soon after, the EU backed the scheme and facilitated the Prague event.

Along with EU states, several Western Balkan nations and regions, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and non-EU countries that are deeply integrated in the EU market -- such as Norway and Switzerland, as well as Britain and Türkiye were also invited to the so-called "EU+" gathering.

"It's interesting because here we have EU leaders and non-EU countries meeting and really talking about European politics, not just in the EU context," Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir told reporters.

"Europe has many difficult problems right now, and we meet here to discuss solutions," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at the opening of the session, mentioning the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflation, high energy prices, the transition to sustainable energy, the economy and illegal migration as topics on agenda.

However, for all the rhetorical fanfare, the project was met with some skepticism. In the lead-up to the event, concern has been growing that the EPC may duplicate other existing organizations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Council of Europe or the Group of Seven.

"My only concern is that the large and disparate numbers of countries invited mirrors the current Council of Europe, which may make a consensus hard to find and make it a talking shop with little clout," Charles Tannock, a former member of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, told Xinhua.

Critics charge the idea is to slow down future EU accessions for countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans aspiring to join the 27-member bloc.

On Thursday, Macron described the meeting as "an important moment," saying the objective was to share a common understanding of the situation affecting Europe, to build a common strategy and, therefore, a strategic conversation. "And I hope to come up with common projects."

And although there is little enthusiasm for European ideas in Britain, Prime Minister Liz Truss, leader of the Eurosceptic Conservative Party, was present in Prague.

Some analysts say this was a positive signal that London is seeking better relations with Europe after a fractious Brexit, which saw Britain leave the EU.

"I support any move which gets the UK politically closer to other European countries particularly to talk about security issues and energy policy," Tannock told Xinhua.

"We shall see shortly what it delivers, but certainly UK needs to plug back into EU structures on key matters like foreign policy, defense and security as NATO doesn't yet include Sweden or Finland and does not cover internal security matters," Tannock said.

The meeting also saw the involvement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggesting that Ankara is keen to improve its relationship with the EU.

In a joint article published in Politico before the gathering, Edi Rama, the prime minister of Albania and Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, said the group could discuss food security, transport, trade connectivity, higher education, research, innovation capabilities and cybersecurity.

"The EPC should be a workspace where we can meet and do business, whether an EU member or not," they noted. "The EPC presents us with a critical opportunity to face our shared challenges head on. Europe must shape its own future, and the only way to do so is to work together as democratic members of the European family."

Nonetheless, the questions of how the EPC will function and what it can achieve continue to cause debate. Enditem

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