The Fifth European Political Community Summit was a

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

of the

European Political Community The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, ...

held on 7 November 2024 in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Aims

The invitation letter to the summit stated that: "The leaders will discuss the main security challenges affecting Europe posed by ongoing conflicts, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the current escalation in the Middle East. During the breakout sessions, they will also hold discussions on migration and economic security, as well as connectivity related issues such as energy, transport, IT and global trade."

Preparation

Hungary hosted the autumn summit of the European Political Community during its

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

. The date of the summit was announced by

Charles Michel Charles Michel (; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Miche ...

on 20 March 2024. An informal meeting of the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

took place the following day. The host for the preceding summit, the United Kingdom, had pledged to work with other EPC members to promote coherence across future EPC summits. To this end, the British ambassador in Budapest, Paul Fox, met with Hungarian Europe minister,

János Bóka János Bóka (born 27 July 1978) is a Hungarian politician serving as minister for European Union affairs since 2023. He previously worked as a professor at the National University of Public Service, the Károli Gáspár University of the Reform ...

, on 25 March 2024. Following the fourth summit, a hosting quartet consisting of the United Kingdom, Hungary, Albania and Denmark was set up to further coordinate between summits.

Schedule and agenda

The summit is scheduled to take place on 7 November 2024 at the

Puskás Aréna Puskás Aréna () is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Zugló, 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. The stadium's construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019. It is an all-seater with a capacity o ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. The schedule and agenda was as follows: *10.00: Arrivals and doorsteps *11.15: Opening session *12.15: Family photo *12.30: Breakout sessions *13:30: Opportunity for bilateral meetings and lunch *15.30: Reporting session *17:30: Press conference by the Prime Minister of Hungary and the Prime Minister of Albania *18:00: End of the meeting

Participants

Participating states and organisations

The summit is expected to be attended by the heads of state or government of the states participating in the European Political Community along with the

President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This Institutions of the European Union, institution comprises the college of heads of state or governme ...

, the

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

and the

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

. Source:

Invited delegates

Outcomes

Armenia–Azerbaijan relations

On the sidelines of the summit, Armenian

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Ararat Mirzoyan Ararat Samveli Mirzoyan (; born 23 November 1979) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Before this, he served as President of the National Assembly of Armenia from January 2019 to August 20 ...

participated in a meeting organised by

Péter Szijjártó Péter Szijjártó (; born 30 October 1978) is a Hungarian politician who has been Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...

, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. Mirzoyan discussed regional issues and presented the latest developments in the process of normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

delimitation process between the two countries and efforts towards the conclusion of a peace treaty. Armenian Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

held several closed-door meetings with his counterparts regarding 'economic security'. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

did not participate in the summit.

Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister

Irakli Kobakhidze Irakli Kobakhidze ( ka, ირაკლი კობახიძე; born 25 September 1978) is a Georgian politician who haa been the 16th Prime Minister of Georgia, prime minister of Georgia since 2024 and has been the Georgian Dream#Leadershi ...

stated that he had discussed "all the important topics ranging from ongoing developments in the country to its European integration with European leaders." While Georgian Foreign Minister

Ilia Darchiashvili Ilia Darchiashvili ( ka, ილია დარჩიაშვილი; born 21 February 1981) is a Georgian government official, diplomat, and a former bank manager, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia from 4 April 2022 to ...

confirmed "the Government's strong commitment to European Union integration and its readiness to cooperate with all parties involved in the process."

Kosovo–Serbia relations

During a press conference, President

Vjosa Osmani Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu (born 17 May 1982) is a Kosovan jurist and politician serving as the sixth president of Kosovo since April 2021, having previously served as acting president from November 2020 to March 2021. She also served as Speaker of the ...

clarified that she had no planned meeting with the

President of Serbia The president of Serbia (), officially styled as President of the Republic (), is the head of state of Serbia. The current officeholder is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2017 and has held the role since 31 May 2017. According to the C ...

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...

, despite both being present at the event. She emphasised that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia takes place in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

under the mediation of the European Union and that discussions on implementing agreements continue between the chief negotiators in this context.

Moldova

A meeting of the Friends of Moldova Group was convened on the fringes of the summit. European leaders commended Moldovan president

Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who is serving as the sixth president of Moldova since 2020. She is the founder and former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity and was Prime Minister of Moldova, prime minister o ...

's commitment to keeping the country on a European path and discussed ways to enhance cooperation to aid Moldova's economy and support reform efforts.

Ukraine

During the summit, Ukrainian president

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

stated, "The bill for this war should be sent to the Russians, not to Ukraine. So that Russia can no longer advance its false claims to everyone around – from the Baltics to the Balkans. Any country, any leader who respects international law and sits at this table should understand that predators always demand more and more." While Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated, "The war launched by Russia against Ukraine is now in its third year, the Middle East is aflame and threatens to escalate, North Africa is embroiled in destabilizing conflict, illegal migration remains a persistent challenge and is nearing its previous peak, and the global economy is facing a level of fragmentation not seen since the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

."Viktor Orbán Concludes EPC Summit: ‘The pro-peace camp grew significantly’
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References

External links

European Council: 5th European Political Community SummitGovernment of Hungary: 5th European Political Community SummitPress materials
{{Europe_topics_(small), state=collapsed European Political Community Diplomatic conferences 2024 conferences Foreign relations of the European Union European integration 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2024 in international relations 2024 in Hungary 2020s in Budapest November 2024 in Europe