ISTANBUL

The sixth European Political Community (EPC) summit began on Friday in Albania.

A total of 47 heads of state or government, as well as EU institutions, are attending the summit in the capital Tirana.

Among those attending are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

From international groups or organizations, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset are all attending.

The summit with the theme “New Europe in a new world: unity – cooperation – joint action” will focus on issues such as European security, including support to Ukraine, European defense, and safeguarding democracy.

Preparedness for various threats, improving the bloc’s competitiveness, and mobility challenges, including migration and labor movement, are also among the topics to be discussed.

In doorstep remarks, Kallas and von der Leyen said the EU would start working on a new package of sanctions on Russia.

“This package will include, for example, sanctions on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. It will include working on listing more vessels of the Russian shadow fleet, and also lowering the oil price cap, and it would include more sanctions on the financial sector in Russia,” von der Leyen explained.

On the current peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, Kallas said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to attend the talks in person means that he is “not serious.”

“I think Putin made a mistake by sending a low-level delegation” to the talks, Rutte also said. “The ball is clearly in his part of the field … He has to be serious about wanting peace. So I think all the pressure is now on Putin.”