European unity ‘is our north star’ says Department of State official, as protocol standoff appears to ease

A senior adviser in the Biden administration has urged the UK not to cause more “flare ups” over Northern Ireland as Brexit talks reopen in London.

In an unusually blunt intervention for a policy adviser, the US Department of State counsellor Derek Chollet said the row over the Northern Ireland protocol needed to be resolved.

06/10/2022 - www.theguardian.com

The prime minister was right to meet other leaders in Prague. But it will take much more work to repair the damage to Britain’s reputation

It would be foolish to suppose that the daylong gathering of European leaders that took place in Prague on Thursday will solve the problems facing this continent. The problems are too huge and pressing for that. The daunting list ranges from the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia, through the gas shortages and high prices facing Europe this winter, to the universal threat from climate change and the challenges of migration for a continent marked by struggling economies.

Nevertheless, the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) is a helpful but modest step for the continent as a whole, and for Britain’s relations with it. The meeting, conceived by President Macron of France, brought together the European Union’s member states and non-members on an equal basis. It makes better European dialogue with important states on the continental periphery more possible. These include Britain as well as Ukraine, Turkey and Norway, along with the non-EU states of the western Balkans and along parts of Russia’s southern flank.

06/10/2022 - www.theguardian.com

PM joins first meeting of European Political Community but says visit is ‘not about moving closer to Europe’

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Liz Truss has said her attendance at a European summit in Prague was “not about moving closer to Europe” and that Emmanuel Macron was a “friend”.

The prime minister visited the Czech capital for the first meeting of the European Political Community, a new group dedicated to advancing security and energy cooperation across the continent.

06/10/2022 - www.theguardian.com