EU invites Türkiye to 1st meeting of European Political Community

The European Union has invited the leaders of all 27 European Union member states plus 17 European countries, including Türkiye, to the first meeting of the European Political Community, an EU official said Thursday.

Invitations to the meeting signed by European Council President Charles Michel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala were sent out today, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The leaders will convene in the Czech capital Prague on Oct. 6.

Heads of state from the 27 EU member states and 17 European countries -- Türkiye, the UK, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Moldova and Georgia -- are invited to participate.

The European Political Community is a platform for political coordination for European countries across the continent, aiming to "bring together leaders from European countries on an equal footing and in a spirit of unity, ideally once or twice a year," said the official.

All leaders will participate in an opening session and closing dinner, hold bilateral talks, and take part in smaller groups in roundtable discussions on various topics such as security stability, energy, climate, mobility and the economy.

EU leaders will hold an informal summit the following day.

The events will be hosted by the Czech government, which assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in July.

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed in May to set up the European Political Community with the participation of EU countries and neighbors to address common political and security challenges.