{"id":468817,"date":"2025-10-02T16:04:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/468817\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:04:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:04:13","slug":"talking-shop-seen-as-a-building-block-for-states-with-eu-ambitions-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/468817\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking shop seen as a building block for states with EU ambitions \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The group of more than 40 European leaders who travelled to Copenhagen<\/a> this week left with a little gift: a packet of Lego sunflowers. <\/p>\n

The summit was the latest gathering of a new talking shop, the European Political Community (EPC), which brings together leaders of the EU<\/a>\u2019s 27 states and their counterparts across the Continent. <\/p>\n

French<\/a> president Emmanuel Macron<\/a> came up with the idea after Russia<\/a>\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>. It was seen as a way to make the EU tent feel a little less exclusive and to hopefully stop other European states drifting into the orbit of Moscow. <\/p>\n

Many of the leaders leaving with their complimentary packs of Lego have their eye on a much more substantial prize: EU membership. <\/p>\n

Officials in Brussels recognise that the bloc is approaching a crossroads. If the union cannot get its own house in order and agree to take in new members, applicant countries carrying out reforms will lose faith in the process. <\/p>\n

\"EuropeanEuropean Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, and Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama. Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen\/Ritzau Scanpix\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and perhaps most significantly Ukraine, are all pushing to join the bloc. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe European Political Community summit is a great platform for the countries that are not part of the EU yet,\u201d said Jakov Milatovic, president of Montenegro. <\/p>\n

The small Balkan state of about 620,000 people is seen as having the best chance of joining, as its entry into the EU would not have any great impact on the bloc\u2019s economy, single market or budget. <\/p>\n

\u201cMontenegro is a front-runner … We do want to become the 28th member state of the EU by 2028,\u201d Milatovic told reporters on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Croatia was the last member in, joining the EU in 2013. Since then further enlargement has stalled. Privately some national diplomats say taking decisions as a 27-state bloc is hard enough, particularly on questions of foreign policy that need to be agreed unanimously. More members, more problems. <\/p>\n

The ability of one leader to hold up the entire accession process proves that point. Hungary\u2019s far right prime minister Viktor Orban has used his national veto to prevent Ukraine\u2019s bid from moving forward. <\/p>\n

Kyiv started the years-long process to come into the EU fold after Russia\u2019s invasion in early 2022. Orban said Ukraine\u2019s entry would import the war into the EU. <\/p>\n

Most other EU leaders, as well as European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, are firm backers of Kyiv\u2019s application. However, serious debate about how Ukraine would practically be integrated into the union has not really started. <\/p>\n

A country of more than 35 million people, with a big agricultural base, would alter the balance of power in the EU during peacetime, never mind during a war. <\/p>\n

The Danish government, which hosted the EPC summit, made sure there were several clear nods to Europe backing Ukraine in that fight. <\/p>\n

Denmark\u2019s no-nonsense prime minister Mette Frederiksen greeted European leaders in front of a huge blue and yellow banner showing a field of sunflowers, the symbol of Ukraine. <\/p>\n

They kept up the motif throughout the day. Danish company Lego produced the special sunflower-themed toys for the visiting presidents and prime ministers. <\/p>\n

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy<\/a> travelled to the EPC, having tuned in by video link to address a meeting of EU leaders in the Danish capital the day before to discuss the war. <\/p>\n

Zelenskiy confirmed he was talking to US president Donald Trump<\/a> about lifting restrictions on using US-made long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia. <\/p>\n

Trump has seesawed between echoing Putin\u2019s talking points to expressing frustration at the Russian leader. Keeping the US president onside has taken up huge amounts of Europe\u2019s political and diplomatic energies over recent months. <\/p>\n

The stakes are high. Leaders fear a worse-case scenario where Trump pulls US support to Ukraine. They are also afraid he might pressure Ukraine into a peace deal on terms that favour Russia, undermining Europe\u2019s security. <\/p>\n

Set against that backdrop the question of Ukraine\u2019s possible future EU membership seems less immediate, but it is no less important. <\/p>\n

Ant\u00f3nio Costa, the former Portuguese prime minister who chairs the summits of EU leaders, floated a possible way around Orban this week. Paradoxically, the Hungarian had power to veto the proposal. <\/p>\n

Costa suggested changing the rules to require only a majority of EU states to open accession negotiations on different topics. There would still need to be unanimous agreement by the 27 capitals to deem the various reforms completed. <\/p>\n

It is understood Orban, predictably unwilling to give up his veto, told EU leaders he would oppose any change. <\/p>\n

That leaves the accession path for Ukraine blocked indefinitely, something that will fuel niggling doubts of other would-be member states about whether the EU can deliver on its end of the deal after all the talking is done. <\/p>\n

Speaking at the end of the summit, Frederiksen said expanding the EU was part of a strategy to make Europe \u201cas strong as possible\u201d. <\/p>\n

She said Orban should not be allowed to decide big questions about Europe\u2019s future against the will of the other 26 member states. <\/p>\n

Albania\u2019s colourful prime minister Edi Rama said his country was not sitting around waiting. \u201cWe will be ready very soon … It\u2019s up to the big guys in the room to not wait any more and to embrace us and bring us in.\u201d <\/p>\n

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In videos shared before the boat\u2019s interception, he showed bright lights approaching and said his boat would continue towards Gaza until it was stopped.”,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”NIETA5TFPJE5ZIMWTFFWR3K4MU”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”Tara Rose Sheehy”,”type”:”header”},{“_id”:”L6VVESMULVERFNA5MNMUSZH34M”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”Tara Rose Sheehy, originally from Co Tipperary and now resident in Spain, was on board the Ohwayla which lost communications early on Thursday morning and is assumed to be intercepted.”,”type”:”text”},{“_id”:”YDSR3OMBEZHA5HLVCAKGVDUJGQ”,”additional_properties”:{},”type”:”image”},{“_id”:”UMXWULEMQVHPXCAI55RJELHF2Y”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”Mary Almai”,”type”:”header”},{“_id”:”WNE7CB7M5RCL5MZXCLCUQAS3VY”,”additional_properties”:{},”content”:”Mary Almai, known as Maureen, is from Fanore in Co Clare and was based in Italy before joining the flotilla. 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