European leaders meet for summit amid tensions over migration and aid to Ukraine – live | European Political Community

“I’m a strong supporter of Ukrainian membership for the European Union – and not just Ukraine, also the western Balkans and Moldova,” Irish leader Leo Varadkar said in Granada amid discussions about how much enlargement would cost the bloc.

“Enlargement is always good for Europe, it helps to provide us with security, it helps to embed democracy and human right, and it also helps the European economy to grow in the round,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that when we look at these questions we don’t see them just as a financial calculation,” the Irish leader said.

Varadkar did stress, however, that enlargement will trigger reforms and countries might have to make larger contributions to the EU’s budget “but that’s all way off.”

“The time from beginning of talks to actually becoming a member, you know, it often takes many years – more than 10 or 15 years – so by then the budget and the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] will be in a very different place, I think, so I really would hope that we don’t create those kinds of fears.”

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, told reporters when arriving at the summit that today’s meeting “will be the occasion to bring the European continent closer to common goals.”

Asked about US support for Kyiv, Michel said that Joe Biden reassured European leader.

“We feel his personal leadership, his personal commitment to ensure that the United States will support Ukraine in the long run, will help Ukraine in the long run.”

“We work very closely together,” he said, noting that Europe is working to approve an additional package for Kyiv. “It is our duty to support Ukraine,” he added.

Asked about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Michel said that “we are shocked” by Azerbaijan’s offensive and that mutual recognition of territorial integrity should be made clear. There is also a need to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees in Armenia, he said.

“I am in favour of this rapprochement between Armenia and the European Union,” he said, adding: “Armenia needs our support.”

It is important not to give up on diplomatic efforts, Michel said.

The Council chief also said a meeting will go ahead with leaders of Germany, France and Armenia, despite Azerbaijan’s decision not to attend the Granada summit.

Lisa O’Carroll

There is little prospect of a meeting of Kosovan and Serbian leaders at the European Political Community, it has emerged.

It is understood that there have been no phone calls to invite the leaders to a meeting.

However if it is a repeat of the last EPC in Moldova, a late afternoon summit could yet be brokered.

As concerns grow about the future of US support for Kyiv, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in Granada that she has confidence in Washington’s commitment.

“It was very important that President Biden informed us at the beginning of this week, what the support for Ukraine is” from the US side.

“Here in the European Union we are working on a package of €50bn for Ukraine for the years [20]24 to [20]27. This is very important because Ukraine needs predictability and reliability in the direct budget support,” the commission chief said.

“As far as I [see] the situation in the United States, I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States – what the United States is working on is the timing.”

“I was not very enthusiastic about a new format like EPC from the beginning, because in the western Balkans and eastern Europe it is feared that it is only a second-class substitute for EU membership,” Michael Roth, chair of the German Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, told the Guardian this morning.

“These countries do not want a European two-class society, but to be full members of the EU,” he said.

“If the EPC wants to be an organisation for peace and stability, we must also talk seriously with each other and make binding agreements,” the lawmaker, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic party, said.

“If it is just another meeting where heads of state and government make their usual Sunday speeches and then pose for a family photo, it won’t get us much further,” he said.

“We have to prove to the states in our immediate neighbourhood that we are seriously interested in their stability.”

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said that the US Congress move not to include additional Ukraine aid in a budget deal was “certainly not a good news but I hope it’s not going to be a definite position of the US”.

“Ukraine needs the support of the European Union,” he said, adding that it would be increased, but that Kyiv also needs US help.

“Europe cannot replace the US,” Borrell said, adding however that “Europe is increasing its support.”

US support is not faltering, Zelenskiy says in Granada

Lisa O’Carroll

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has insisted US support for Ukraine is not faltering as he arrived at the European Political Community summit in Granada.

Joe Biden has given “100% support,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader said it is was “difficult” election period for the US and some voices were “very strange”, but he was confident that despite the recent budget decision to exclude the defence budget for Ukraine for 45 days, it was just a blip.

The main goal for all European leaders gathered at the European Political Community in Granada was to keep Europe united, he added.

“The main challenge is to save unity in Europe not only in the EU but in all of Europe,” said Zelenskiy, warning of Russian “disinformation attacks”.

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, told reporters when arriving at the summit that the gathering showed the country’s role in Europe.

Leaders, he said, would today discuss multilateralism, the impact of Russia’s war, energy and artificial intelligence.

Tomorrow, EU leaders will open a debate on the future of the bloc, he noted, underscoring that enlargement will bring challenges.

Asked about western assistance for Ukraine, Sánchez said that “solidarity, unity and of course all the support of not only the European governments, but also our societies – I think that all the Europeans are backing Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his country. And of course we are ready to support … until the end of this war our friends in Ukraine.”

“We have of course debates and we need to deliver within the European Union,” he said, pointing to discussions about the bloc’s long-term budget.

“It is an honour to have Volodymyr Zelenskiy with us here in Granada. I think that Granada is today the capital of Europe and also the capital of peace,” the Spanish leader said.

The European Political Community “remains a key platform for both EU and non-EU members to discuss Europe’s challenges,” Moldova’s foreign minister, Nicu Popescu, said today.

In a statement to the Guardian this morning, Popescu – who also serves as deputy prime minister – said that “as a former host of the EPC, we are keen to see EPC succeed and deliver impact”.

Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, is set to participate in a multilateralism and security round table in Granada.

Her message to EPC, according to the foreign minister, “will be on security of democracies and safeguarding of democratic processes”.

“She will particularly refer to Russia’s election interference, as Moldova is facing three election cycles: local, presidential and parliamentary.” In bilateral meetings, he added, Sandu “will be discussing Moldova’s EU accession path and opening of accession talks with the EU by the year-end”.

Asked about Moldova’s progress toward its goal of joining the EU, Popescu said his country “has made notable and substantial advancements in the implementation of all nine recommendations put forth by the European Commission.”

“In June, we received an oral update from the Commission, indicating that Moldova has successfully executed three recommendations, made commendable progress on three others, and achieved a certain degree of advancement on the remaining three,” he said, noting that since then “we have made significant strides in addressing key issues, such as strengthening the rule of law, enhancing administrative capabilities, and countering Russian hybrid threats.”

“Our progress in these areas has become considerably more substantial, and we anticipate that this progress will serve as a solid foundation for the recommendation to commence negotiation talks by the end of the year,” the minister said.

But Popescu also noted that the EU is “undergoing its own reform process.”

“It is evident that both sides are deeply committed to the matter of enlargement. We maintain a strong and productive collaboration with all EU institutions, and our shared aspiration is to see Moldova prepared for EU membership by the end of 2030,” he said.

Lisa O’Carroll

Everyone is now waiting for leaders to arrive in Granada

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived for the summit.

“Our joint goal is to ensure the security and stability of our common European home,” he wrote on social media.

“We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard,” the Ukrainian leader said.

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation,” Zelenskiy noted, saying that Kyiv’s “key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defense.”

“This should be a productive day for Ukraine and Europe as a whole,” he added.

We asked Nikola Dimitrov, a former foreign minister and deputy prime minister of North Macedonia, what is the significance of the European Political Community and what can be achieved.

“The initial scepticism in the region over EPC as a consolation prize in lieu of enlargement has gradually waned, in part due to the revived enlargement debate,” Dimitrov said.

“For the western Balkan leaders, the pan-European informal summit is an opportunity to present their countries as valuable partners on the big screen, at a European level, and strengthen their bond with other European leaders,” he said.

“Just like people in general,” Dimitrov noted, “when leaders meet regularly they develop a sense of belonging, a community, and get used to each other, which will hopefully melt some of the reservations on enlargement and soften up the more difficult relationships.”

“However,” he said, “what we in the region will eagerly await in particular is the debate on the absorption capacity of the EU the following day – at the informal European Council meeting.”

“Will the EU really be ready for new members and when?”

Giorgia Meloni turns to Rishi Sunak to take battle against migration beyond EU

Lisa O’Carroll

Giorgia Meloni has turned to the UK’s prime minister Rishi Sunak to take her battle against migration beyond the EU, it has emerged.

In what some are dubbing the Spanish framework, the prime ministers have forced migration on to the agenda at a historic meeting of about 50 European leaders in Granada on Thursday.

The leaders gathering for the European Political Community (EPC) summit had already been shepherded into groups themed on enlargement, defence, artificial intelligence, energy security and the climate emergency.

However at the 11th hour it emerged that Meloni had contacted Sunak after it became public that he had failed to persuade Spain, the EPC organiser, to put migration on the agenda.

The two prime ministers will now chair a separate group on the subject and are expected to raise the need for more coordination between the EU and the UK.

Sunak is expected to announce new bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence sharing and operational cooperation.

Ahead of the meeting he said: “Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade. With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable. We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europe’s shores.”

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Leaders from dozens of countries will gather in Granada, Spain, today for a meeting of the European Political Community.

The group formally consists of 47 countries – from Ukraine and the UK, European Union members to the western Balkans and Caucasus.

The EPC was created last year, following a proposal from French president Emmanuel Macron. The first summit was held in the Czech Republic in October 2022, and for a second time in Moldova in June this year.

With a few exceptions, heads of state and government from nearly all EPC countries will be in Madrid today.

The summit comes amid growing questions about the future of western aid to Ukraine.

Leaders are also meeting at a time of tension between Kosovo and Serbia, and as concerns persist about Azerbaijan and Armenia following Baku’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the exodus of Armenian civilians from the area.

Stay tuned for news, analysis and reactions.

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