European Political Community meets in Moldova – Politics

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has traveled a lot: he traveled to Great Britain, Rome and Berlin, attended the Arab League meeting and the G-7 summit. On Friday morning he arrived in Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbor. The heads of state and government of the European Political Community (EPG) meet there on Friday – a loose association of 47 European and Near Eastern countries, brought into being last year by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The EPG wants to work together on security, energy, climate, infrastructure and investments. But it is also a signal to Russia and Belarus – they are the only two European states that have not been invited to join the community.

The fact that the meeting is taking place in Moldova is seen as a sign of Europe’s solidarity with the country. “Moldova is the political heart of Europe this week,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier. Moldova has been an EU accession candidate since June 2022. The country submitted the application under the impression of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

War is the dominant theme, also because of its geographical proximity

The war will be one of the main topics at the summit. Because Ukraine itself is part of the EPG, Zelensky is likely to play a different role than during his past visits, where he has always appeared as a guest. He announced on Telegramto want to hold many bilateral talks, and also to forge a coalition that will protect his country in the future.

The war on the summit is also very dominant geographically: it is taking place in Bulboaca, a small town only about 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. NATO is responsible for the safety of the summit participants Awaks– Reconnaissance aircraft is in use. The aircraft can monitor the airspace within a radius of about 400 kilometers. The city also borders Transnistria, the breakaway region bordering Ukraine run by a de facto pro-Russian regime. Russia has stored ammunition and weapons there, and soldiers from the Russian army are also stationed in Transnistria.

At the meeting in this conflict region, other topics will be discussed in addition to the war in Ukraine, such as the still enormous dependence on Russian energy supplies in some European countries. In addition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Macron want to speak to the heads of government of Serbia and Kosovo to mediate in the conflict that flared up recently.

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