The summit of the European Political Community, which took place on October 6 in Prague, had to get rid of EU flags at the request of Great Britain, and the Brussels leadership of the EU had to make its presence as cautious as possible.
The Euractiv publication learned about it.
The meeting was jointly prepared by the Czech Presidency, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and Emmanuel Macron, who initiated the new format of EU cooperation.
However, diplomats of the Czech presidency noted that it has "nothing to do with the EU itself."
Indeed, there were no EU flags in Prague Castle, where the meeting took place. As it became known, this was one of the demands of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who also joined the meeting. However, the EU was represented by Michel, who also chaired the informal dinner.
Although European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also present at the meetings, she did not play a formal role.
"She did not make a speech during the official program, she was only present at the event and had bilateral meetings there," the Czech diplomat told the publication.
According to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, Europe needs a space for informal exchange of ideas regardless of EU membership or not. "Even the fact that all European leaders spent a day together in one place and held dozens of bilateral meetings is a blessing," he said.
Fiala also said that the European political community will not be institutionalized, and there will be no official results of the summit.
Ukraine also took part in the summit in Prague. Head of Government Denys Shmyhal was present, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed remotely.