The European Political Community: A new anchoring to the European Union

On Europe Day last 9th May, President Macron launched discussions on a ‘European Political Community’. This proposal comes in response to the recent applications for EU membership received from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. This idea resonates with the proposal of a European Confederation put forward by François Mitterrand in 1989, to which the French President referred, and which Enrico Letta (President of the Jacques Delors Institute) recently reframed. The proposal entails establishing a European political space, beyond the European Union, which may constitute a first step towards membership or, according to a country’s preference, an alternative to it. This brief aims to provide a succinct overview of the initiative and to flag the specific questions it raises