17 non-member countries of the European Union have been invited to the first meeting of a new European political forum that will take place in the Czech Republic on October 6. Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Britain were invited to the political forum.
The meeting is taking place ahead of an informal summit of EU leaders. Participants will discuss security, migration and climate change, as well as the current economic situation; however no formal statements or joint positions are planned.
The political gathering, called the European Political Community, is an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and aims to facilitate a closer exchange between EU countries and those that remain outside the bloc, either by choice or because they do not currently meet the criteria of membership .
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently backed the European Political Community, but said it “must not be an alternative to EU enlargement”.

/Klara Ruci/