OSCE Moscow Mechanism invoked over human rights concerns in Georgia

The 8th Summit of the European Political Community (EPC) opened on Monday morning (4 May) in the Armenian Capital Yerevan. It is held under the slogan "Building the future: unity and stability in Europe". At the start of the meeting the leaders took a "family photo". (See image) The European Political Community (EPC) brings together the Leaders of around 50 European partners on an equal footing, in a spirit of unity, and with a shared purpose. It provides a political platform to: 1. foster political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest 2. strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent The EPC offers a space for European Leaders to engage, exchange and enhance cooperation. It does not replace any existing organisation, structure or process. The European Political Community has met seven times since 2022, and convenes for the 8th time in Yerevan on the 4th of May 2026. European leaders arrived in Yerevan from all across Europe on 3 May to participate in the summit, making this the largest gathering of European leaders in the South Caucasus ever. Among those is Yerevan is French President, Emanuel Macron, who on Sunday evening, accompanied by Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, went on a walk on the streets of Yerevan. Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, is also in Yerevan. He is the first non-European leader to participate in an EPC summit. There was a lot of speculation regarding Azerbaijan's participation. It is now understood that president Ilham Aliyev will participate in the summit by video link. commonspace.eu special correspondent at the summit, Alex Verge, will file a report on the summit conclusions at the end of the meeting.

Updated at 1700 CEST. European leaders are arriving in Armenia on Sunday, for the 8th summit of the European Political Community (EPC), which is expected to take place in Yerevan on Monday 4 April. This is the biggest gathering of European leaders in the South Caucasus ever. This afternoon, British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk where amongst those arriving. Sir Keir was welcomed at Zvarnots International Airport by Vahagn Khachaturyan, the president of Armenia Also among those arriving will be French President, Emanuel Macron, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president, Antonio Costa. Ukrainian president Volodmyr Zelenski is also expected to attend and he is already in the Armenian capital. Turkish Vice president, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz will represent his country in the summit. Also present will be Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney. The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine The group first met in October 2022 in Prague. The 47 EPC participating states are home to 689.5 million people, constitute 8.7 percent of the world's population and represent about 23.5 percent of the global GDP.