Six takeaways from the European Political Community in Armenia

Armenia hosted connected Monday the eighth gathering of the European Political Community (EPC), an all-inclusive format conceived successful the aboriginal days of Russia's warfare connected Ukraine.

The EPC is famously known for producing nary ceremonial written outcomes oregon binding agreements. Instead, leaders usage the juncture for cosy bilaterals and photo-ops, which are past meticulously documented connected their societal media accounts.

Admittedly, determination was plentifulness of that successful Yerevan, but determination was besides substantive treatment that laid bare the turmoil and anxiousness that the continent is going through.

Here are the six takeaways from the EPC successful Armenia.

Merz's glaring absence

Sometimes, summits are shaped arsenic overmuch by who is missing arsenic by who is present.

As it happened, the biggest no-show was the astir in-demand leader: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who presently finds himself astatine the centre of a geopolitical contention aft declaring that Iran had "humiliated" the United States successful the war.

Furious implicit Merz's brutally honorable dig, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American soldiersfrom Germany and threatened to rise tariffs connected EU-made cars from 15%, arsenic agreed nether the commercialized deal, to 25%. The hike could further strain the already struggling German economy, which relies connected automobile exports.

Merz has since been successful harm power mode, denying immoderate transportation betwixt his remarks astir the warfare and Trump's back-to-back announcements.

"I americium not giving up connected moving connected the transatlantic relationship," Merz told the nationalist broadcaster ARD. "Nor americium I giving up connected moving with Donald Trump."

In Yerevan, leaders cautiously avoided statements that could escalate tensions.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europeans had "gotten the message" astir the "disappointment" of the White House, portion High Representative Kaja Kallas said the continent was acceptable to measurement up its subject contributions to communal defence.

"The timing of this announcement comes arsenic a surprise," Kallas admitted. "I bash not spot into the caput of President Trump, truthful helium has to explicate it himself."

All astir Mark

If Merz near a spread successful the summit, his Canadian counterpart made definite to capable it.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's attendance marked the archetypal clip a non-European person took portion successful an EPC meeting. The different heads of authorities and authorities seemed enthused astir the addition, vying for face-to-face clip with the erstwhile banker.

Relishing the attention, Carney positioned himself arsenic the polar other of Trump. He defended a rules-based planetary bid anchored successful "freedom, regularisation of law, ideology (and) pluralism" and hailed a "common future" between Canada and Europe.

"We person to actively instrumentality connected the satellite arsenic it is, not arsenic we privation it to be. We cognize nostalgia is not a strategy. But we don't deliberation that we're destined to taxable to a much transactional, insular and brutal world," Carney said, echoing his code earlier this twelvemonth successful Davos, wherever helium pitched a conjugation of mid-size powers to antagonistic the US and China.

"It's my beardown idiosyncratic presumption that the planetary bid volition beryllium rebuilt, but it volition beryllium rebuilt retired of Europe. And truthful I'm precise appreciative of the symbolism of this invitation."

Zelenksyy's portion of advice

Russia's warfare of aggression was the crushed wherefore the EPC was acceptable up successful the archetypal spot and, erstwhile again, featured heavy successful the discussions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was engaged holding bilateral meetings with Britain's Keir Starmer, Finland's Petteri Orpo, Norway's Jonas Gahr Støre and Czechia's Andrej Babiš, among others. He besides held talks with Slovakia's Robert Fico, with whom helium was precocious embroiled successful a bitter quality involving the Druzhba lipid pipeline.

Zelenskyy asked to ramp up subject enactment for his country's service and unfastened the archetypal clusters of negotiations towards EU membership, which remains blocked by Hungary. He besides urged leaders to reason immoderate sanctions alleviation for Russia, arsenic the US has granted.

During the plenary session, Zelenskyy addressed a hot-button contented that has sharply divided European capitals: the anticipation of engaging successful nonstop talks with the Kremlin.

"We request to find a workable diplomatic format, and Europe indispensable beryllium astatine the array successful immoderate talks with Russia," helium told the room.

"We're successful interaction with the US, and we recognize their views and positions, but it would beryllium bully to make 1 communal European dependable for talks with Russia."

Metsola hits back

For the astir part, the EPC was each smiles, handshakes and pats connected the back. But astatine 1 constituent during the greeting session, tensions concisely surfaced successful the room.

In his virtual code to leaders, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev launched a broadside onslaught against the European Parliament for spreading what helium called "slander and lies" astir his country. Aliyev denounced the Parliament for adopting 14 resolutions captious of Azerbaijan, describing the grounds arsenic "a benignant of obsession".

Just earlier the big was astir to adjacent the statement and nonstop leaders to lunch, European Parliament Robert Metsola asked for the level to deed back astatine the accusations.

"The European Parliament is simply a straight elected antiauthoritarian assemblage with resolutions that are adopted by majority," she said. "The result mightiness beryllium uncomfortable for some, but we volition ne'er alteration the mode we work."

Despite the tense episode, leaders celebrated the information that Aliyev had agreed to speak, albeit virtually, astatine a summit successful Armenia, fixed the convulsive past betwixt the 2 countries. The 2 sides are presently implementing a bid woody signed successful August 2025.

The outgo of being dependent

A recurring taxable successful Yerevan was Europe's achy and costly dependencies, which came to the fore aft Russia chopped disconnected state supplies successful 2022. The taxable has taken connected a caller consciousness of urgency – and, arguably, panic – successful airy of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the ensuing disruption crossed vigor markets.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said dependency connected imports of fossil fuels made the full bloc "vulnerable" to outer shocks.

"Energy has ever been a stumble chromatic successful the interior market," she said. "But present with the struggle successful the Middle East, it has truly go a chokepoint for us."

Speaking by her side, French President Emmanuel Macron warned astir economical dependency connected China and called connected the EU to velocity up its "de-risking" strategy, which has been hampered by governmental divisions, done much "solidarity" and investment.

Macron was 1 of the fewer who dared notation the US by name.

"We are experiencing the outgo of our overdependencies erstwhile we talk astir the American umbrella successful presumption of defence and security," helium said.

"Let's beryllium honest: this is the elephant successful the room."

Leaders, however, attempted to dispel the content that cracking down connected costly dependencies meant closing up store to the extracurricular world.

"European independency does not mean inward-looking. Not astatine all. It's the opposite. It is reaching retired to like-minded partners," von der Leyen said.

Seeds of a reset

The EPC served arsenic the backdrop for the EU and the UK to instrumentality a caller measurement successful their governmental reset aft the turbulent aftermath of Brexit.

Von der Leyen and Starmer met connected the sidelines to sermon London's program to enactment successful the €90 cardinal enactment loan for Ukraine that Brussels adopted past month.

The fiscal scheme, which is backed by communal indebtedness and expected to outgo €3 cardinal successful yearly interest, leaves the doorway unfastened for non-EU countries to payment from subject procurement. But determination is 1 important condition: if you join, you spot in.

"The UK indispensable perpetrate to providing just and proportionate fiscal publication to the costs arising from borrowing, and that has to beryllium proportionate to the worth of contracts awarded to the entities established successful the UK," a Commission spokesperson said.

London and Brussels volition present negociate to find the British contribution.

Both sides anticipation the occurrence of those talks could pave the mode for a caller effort regarding SAFE, the bloc's €150 cardinal defence programme. The UK antecedently tried to articulation the inaugural but balked astatine the connection enactment guardant by the Commission.

The reset is gaining gait up of the upcoming EU-UK summit.