No less than 44 heads of state and government met at Prague Castle on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking to our colleagues from RTL Télé, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel stated that he and his counterparts discussed “broad answers for the continent,” adding that the atmosphere in the different work groups was “excellent”. Besides the EU member states, other countries were also represented, including the United Kingdom, Turkey, and several Balkan states.
Bettel himself participated in the work group ‘Peace and Security 2’ alongside, among others, French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. The work group was chaired by the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister stressed that he did not avoid sensitive issues, explaining that he is well-aware of the disputes between the Turkish President and Bettel’s Greek and Cypriot counterparts or the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The initiative for the European Political Community was launched by French President Emmanuel Macron. Topics of discussion on Thursday included the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and inflation. As of Thursday evening, the talks had not led to any concrete conclusions. An official final declaration is also not planned.
One goal of the conference is without a doubt to send a symbolic message to Moscow. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel stated that politicians in Prague were unified on the issue of Ukraine.
On Friday, the heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states will meet for an informal summit in Prague.
The full report by RTL Télé (in Luxembourgish):
Xavier Bettel op Visitt zu Prag um Europa-Sommet (6.10.22)
Extrait Xavier Bettel
Europa-Sommet / Reportage Pit Everling