European Political Community live news

Some 50 European leaders have arrived in Granada, Spain for a summit of the European Political Community (EPC), a forum aiming to foster cooperation across the continent.
Meetings on the margins will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks.Kosovo president to discuss ‘security challenges … after Serbia’s act of aggression’
The forum will still be a rare occasion where leaders of rival nations such as Serbia and Kosovo will be gathered in one plenary room. Any chance of rapprochement, though, is dim, since Kosovo will not be represented by Prime Minister Albin Kurti but by its president, Vjosa Osmani, whose role is largely ceremonial.

“In meetings with fellow leaders, I’ll discuss security challenges in Kosovo after Serbia’s act of aggression & reiterate our commitment to deepening cooperation w/ allies for long-term peace, stability & security,” Osmani wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.Turkey’s President Erdogan not attending summit
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key figure in both the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and diplomacy surrounding Ukraine, is also missing the summit – the second time in a row he has done so.

Erdogan was in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave last month for talks with President Ilham Aliyev to discuss Turkey-Azerbaijan ties and regional and global issues.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have strong economic, military, cultural and linguistic ties. Erdogan has invoked the saying the countries are “one nation, two states”.

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36m ago (08:34 GMT)
UK, Italy eye migration
Without a meeting on Karabakh, “the agenda could flip to the migration crisis”, Sebastien Maillard of the Institut Jacques Delors think tank told AFP. He predicted that the UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would seize the opportunity, having kickstarted the UK election campaign this week.

With the Caucasus conflict falling down the EPC agenda, Sunak and Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni will push a plan for tough action on migration. The two will chair a side meeting at the EPC and discuss “joint action” against what Sunak’s office dubbed “organised immigration crime”.

“With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable. We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europe’s shores,” Sunak said.Who has been invited to attend?
Here’s a list of the 47 heads of state and government invited to the third meeting of the European Political Community:

EU27 member states
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Georgia
Iceland
Kosovo
Liechtenstein
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Norway
San Marino
Serbia
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
The President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament are also invited to the meeting.What is on the agenda?
The group will address the most pressing international crises such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the situation in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region, a senior EU official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters.

The EU’s future, digitalisation, green transition of the economy and energy issues are also expected to be discussed.