As war rages on the continent’s eastern edge and global tensions threaten fragile alliances, 47 leaders from across Europe gathered on 16 May for the Sixth Summit of the European Political Community — a young but potent platform for political coordination born of crisis and hope.
Under the motto “New Europe in a new world: unity – cooperation – joint action”, the summit was more than a meeting; it was a message. Europe, long accused of slumbering in the face of escalating threats, is now—according to its top officials—wide awake.
“Europe must succeed in bringing a just and lasting peace to Ukraine,” declared António Costa, the new President of the European Council and co-chair of the summit alongside Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. “International law must prevail… peace without defence is an illusion.” With the Russian invasion of Ukraine looming large over the agenda, the summit’s tone was clear: there is no more room for complacency.
Three high-level roundtables tackled the issues that will define the continent’s next chapter: security and democratic resilience; competitiveness and economic strength; and the power of mobility and youth. Behind closed doors and before cameras, leaders voiced a shared urgency—and a renewed belief in joint European action.
Albania’s Edi Rama, hosting the summit in a country that only recently emerged from its own scars of war, offered a pointed reminder: “The enemies of peace should not drag us into the glorification of weapons… Here in the Balkans, we have survived war, bombs, territorial conflicts. And we have learned that peace has no competitors.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the sentiment. “Today, Europe is awake – wide awake,” she said. “And while Russia has left Europe, the European Political Community is united to preserve peace.”
Among the most resonant messages came from EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, who described Albania’s EU path as promising and emphasized the “political momentum for enlargement” — a rare alignment of necessity and opportunity.
The European Political Community, launched in 2022, has quickly become more than symbolic. In a world splintering into hard edges and harder choices, it is Europe’s attempt to knit together something stronger: not just a bloc, but a shared voice.
That voice will next gather in Denmark in autumn 2025. By then, the question will not be whether Europe is awake — but whether it can keep its eyes open long enough to reshape its future.
