The European Political Community can be more than an ‘unidentified political object’

With a meeting in Copenhagen on 2 October 2025, the European Political Community (EPC) has just signed up for its seventh summit. The attendance of all the heads of state and government from across the continent is testament to
the interest in this pan-European event, which is now a regular fixture on their agenda. Held twice a year, the next summits are scheduled until 2028 inclusive. There was no guarantee that President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise initiative, announced on 9 May 2022 in Strasbourg and prepared by his Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune, would be a lasting one. At first, it was met with scepticism by the countries applying to join the European Union, reluctance from Germany and doubts in France itself. The excellent attendance of leaders at successive summits now proves the accuracy of this intuition, without dispelling questions about a purpose that has yet to be clarified.

The English version of this article by Sébastian Maillard, produced for the “Haut-Commissariat à la Stratégie et au Plan”, is available on the Chatham House website.