London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

EU to invite next UK PM to summit on new pan-European security body

EU to invite next UK PM to summit on new pan-European security body

European leaders will head to Prague on 6 October to forge European Political Community
The EU will offer an olive branch to the new British prime minister with an invitation to a summit to discuss a new organisation uniting the democracies of the European continent.

Britain’s next prime minister, widely expected to be Liz Truss, will be invited to join fellow leaders across Europe at a summit in Prague on 6 October to forge a European Political Community, a body dedicated to advancing security across the continent.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said he had no doubt the UK would be invited to the Czech capital despite “difficulties” over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Speaking in an interview with the Guardian and other European media, he said it was obvious the UK needed to be there. Michel said: “Even if we have discussions and difficulties on that [NI protocol] topic; in the broader perspective, there is no doubt that we are friends and that we need to continue to act together.”

Michel is a close political ally of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who sketched out in May the idea of a European Political Community which would include all the democracies of the continent, including Ukraine and other aspirants to EU membership in the western Balkans.

If Truss is put into No 10 by Conservative party members, as widely predicted by opinion polls, her response to the invite will be an early sign of her stance towards Europe.

As foreign secretary, Truss made a speech on Britain’s allies that avoided mentioning the European Union. During the Tory leadership race, she caused astonishment and dismay among British diplomats when she said “the jury is still out” on whether Macron was a friend or foe of the UK.

Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, struck a similar tone to the French president, who has said he would not hesitate for a second to describe Britain as a friend. “The United Kingdom is a friend, a partner, a like-minded partner,” Michel said.

The invite to a gathering of European leaders on 6 October – immediately after the Tory party conference – contrasts with an earlier decision not to ask Boris Johnson to an EU summit that Joe Biden attended earlier this year.

While EU diplomats agree on Britain’s invitation to the gathering, the question of Turkey’s inclusion is more controversial. Greece and Cyprus, embroiled in long-running disputes with Ankara, oppose inviting Turkey, which remains an official candidate to join the EU although talks have been stalled for years. Michel said the EU should invite Turkey, but that he wanted to “make sure there is support from all colleagues”.

The rest of the guest-list is straightforward: there will be invites for Norway and Switzerland, non-EU countries deeply integrated into the single market, as well as nine countries hoping to join the EU, including Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and six western Balkan states, plus non-candidates Armenia and Azerbaijan.

While there have been concerns the European Political Community could simply replicate existing pan-European bodies, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Michel suggested leaders wanted an informal and “very flexible” body, resembling the G7 or the G20.

The war in Ukraine has put security at the top of the agenda for the fledgling organisation, but Macron has also suggested the body could promote free movement for young people, as well as joint work on transport and energy.

The invite to the Prague summit does not signal any change from the EU to the contested Northern Ireland protocol. EU officials are pessimistic about an upturn in relations from either candidate vying to be prime minister, especially Truss, the architect of a bill to unilaterally override the protocol.

Michel, who is not involved in talks on the Northern Ireland protocol, said he expected the UK to uphold the agreement signed in 2019.

“I think there are so many difficult challenges in the world. We don’t need additional difficulties. Our position is very clear: we have got an agreement with the United Kingdom and we are confident that a great democracy will respect the international rule of law.”

Repeating the Latin formula beloved by EU officials, which is a fundamental principle of international law, he added: pacta sunt servanda, agreements must be kept.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×