UK Seeks To Begin Reset w/EU At 18 July EPC Meeting

The European Political Community (EPC) holds it biannual meeting at Blenhiem Palace in Oxfordshire, UK on 18 July. The EPC was established by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 in an effort to foster dialogue between European countries both within and without the EU on major geopolitical issues.

• The timing of the EPC may appear to be beneficial for the new UK gov't. PM Sir Keir Starmer has talked up a re-set in relations with the EU and its member states following a massive deterioration since the UK's vote to leave the EU eight years ago (albeit with something of a rapprochment during the Sunak gov't). Indeed, the meeting will be an opportunity for Starmer to meet European leaders for the first time or reaffirm links made at the NATO summit last week.
• However, the NATO summit, and indeed a slew of major political events in Europe in recent weeks including the European Parliament elections and two European Council summits mean that attendance is likely to be lower and committments less headline-grabbing than Starmer would hope. Already, European Commission President Ursulavon der Leyen has confirmed she will not be at the EPC, and nor will President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
• Nevertheless, ~45 leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected with the major topics (set by the previous UK gov't) being defence and democracy, Ukraine, energy, and migration. Given the position of the EPC as a body for dialogue rather than an established institution, significant policy headlines are unlikely to emerge.