EU plus

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.