In a new sign that most European leaders today favor words over deeds — a prior one being nearly eight months of a brutal war in Ukraine that Pope Francis just called “an error” — leaders from dozens of continental capitals will gather Thursday at Prague Castle for a two-day parley conceived by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.Or ill-conceived, depending on one’s opinion of the European project. The summit aims to launch the European Political Community, a pet scheme of Mr. Macron, who seems to have forgotten that a European Union already exists. There already is an Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe, and a European Community that pre-dates the European Union. If Mr. Macron could sell his recycled acronyms, Moscow — which was not invited to the Czech capital — might buy them just for fun.The EPC is not intended to replace the EU but rather is intended more as an informal platform for Europeans to discuss issues touching on security, energy, and illegal immigration. With second-tier status right from the start, whether it will translate to concrete actions on matters such as the war in Ukraine remains a question. In a letter to the leaders of the 27 EU countries, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote that the war with Russia beckoned them down a path aimed at “bringing together countries on the European continent and providing a platform for political coordination.”He added that “our ambition is to bring leaders together on an equal footing and promote political dialogue … so that together we can work to strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of Europe as a whole.”Most analysts say that recipe is likely to yield little more than new sanctions against Russia, which have so far failed to do much — if anything — to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine. Or as Mr. Michel put it, “We will continue to strengthen our restrictive measures to further increase the pressure on Russia to end its war.”Ukraine’s military, with considerable assistance from London and Washington, has done more to keep the pressure on Russia to call it quits in Ukraine than any “restrictive measures” from Brussels or Paris.Mr. Macron’s EPC will convene for the first time against the backdrop not only of the war in Ukraine and an increasingly unpredictable Russia, but as right-wing political parties gain steam on Europe’s only superficially united political scene.The most recent example is the victory of Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party in Italy’s national elections, which will see Ms. Meloni become that country’s first female prime minister. In July, just days after France floated the idea of a European Political Community, leaders of several right-wing parties signed a document calling for major reforms to the EU.Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who is often at odds with Brussels, signed the document, as did Ms. Meloni and Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally. It reads in part that the EU, “instead of protecting Europe and its heritage, is itself becoming a source of problems and anxiety.”The very emergence of a new European political grouping, regardless of what it does or does not do, would appear to underscore just how real those problems are. A new acronym is in some respects just a fig leaf over those mounting anxieties.Because Ms. Meloni is not likely to formally assume the role of prime minister before October 20, it is doubtful that she will be going to Prague — something for which Mr. Macron might be grateful, given his less than charitable attitude toward the Italian approach to illegal immigration.Among other notable participants will be the new British prime minister, Elizabeth “Liz” Truss, who recently said that the “jury’s out” on whether Mr. Macron can be counted as a “friend or foe.”Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, will fly to Prague, and the Turkish president, Tayyip Erdogan, was invited, too. It’s not clear, though, if the testy Turk, who is not on speaking terms with Mr. Mitsotakis, will participate.The Czech Republic currently holds the EU presidency, not that anyone noticed. Czech Radio reported that the only country outside Europe likely to send a representative to the parley is Israel.
