The Heads of State or Government of the EU’s Member States are going to meet in Prague at an informal summit on October 6 and 7. French President Macron’s idea of a European Political Community is planned to be launched at this informal meeting which will also host associate, candidate and aspiring countries to the EU such as Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and also Britain. It is covered in the media that Armenia and Azerbaijan are also invited. Debate on whether to invite Türkiye or not is still going on. President Macron earlier said that in principle, this political community would enable "members of the European Union, plus the British, Norwegians, Swiss, western Balkan states, Ukrainians, etc. to meet every six months. (...) Regarding the question of Türkiye’s inclusion, he said that it is a matter of discussion although France has no veto on the matter. President of the European Council Charles Michel noted that the EU should also invite Türkiye based on a consensus among the Member States. However it may be the case that Greece and Greek Cypriots may oppose Türkiye’s invitation.

IKV Chairman  Ayhan Zeytinoglu said that Türkiye’s inclusion into the European Political Community is critical and therefore its exclusion from the informal meeting in Prague should be out of the question:

“The European Political Community project is an initiative to include countries in the larger European geography to the European integration process based on common values, constant dialogue and solidarity against threats such as those emanating from Russian aggression. This larger Europe includes not only Member States and candidate countries but also countries in the immediate neighborhood of the EU, countries such as Norway and Switzerland which are highly integrated to the European market, and also Britain which has recently left EU membership but still share many interests with the EU. The European Political Community project has been mostly triggered in order to defend and show solidarity with Ukraine following Russia’s aggression towards the country. It is an initiative to show a united front against rivals, join forces against common enemies and threats. The EU is faced with many challenges including the rise in energy prices and the social and political upheavals this situation may set off. Under such challenging circumstances it is vital that Türkiye should be considered as a part of this project. Although we still aim for full membership of the EU, the European Political Community which is an idea spurred by geopolitical necessities should definitely include Türkiye as well. Türkiye has shown its relevance for European issues many times, most recently in the Ukrainian crisis. One needs only to look at history to see that Türkiye cannot be left out of European security structures or European politics for that matter. Türkiye has been a member of all European organisations since the Second World War except for the EU. Despite this it has a close association and a customs union with the Union. It would be illogical to exclude Türkiye which is a candidate country, an associate state and also a customs union partner, moreover a country which the EU depended upon to control the Syrian refugee crisis 6 years ago. Türkiye is a vital player in the solution of Europe’s problems and in the quest to stabilize disputes and conflicts in nearby regions. If Greece and GASC are opposing Türkiye’s participation to the Prague summit due to the disputes over Cyprus or the Aegean, it should not be forgotten that these issues cannot be solved without reaching out to and engaging with Türkiye”.