Granada Summit Was a Failure: Politico

The summit, attended by around 50 European leaders, numerous aides, and legions of journalists, was a failure. The participants were unable to achieve any significant progress in resolving conflicts at Europe's doorstep or addressing any other regional issues, reports the European Politico portal.

The third meeting of Emmanuel Macron's "European Political Community" project was presented by advisors as an opportunity to achieve peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, reduce tensions in the Balkans, and conduct strategic discussions about the continent's security.

While the leaders gathered around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Granada to drum up European support for Ukraine amidst concerns over U.S. aid, they were unable to make headway on other conflicts due to the absence of key players.

Hopes of taking steps to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh collapsed when Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decided to skip the meeting. The leaders hoped to facilitate the first meeting between Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan after Azerbaijan launched a lightning attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the exodus of 100,000 refugees.

Azerbaijan has accused France of bias in negotiations and eventually agreed to talks, but only under the auspices of the EU in Brussels, according to Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to President Aliyev.

Attempts to ease tensions between Kosovo and Serbia have proven equally fruitless. Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani has refused to negotiate with her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vučić unless sanctions are imposed against Belgrade.

The sense of futility regarding the informal summit reached its peak when the host country, Spain, canceled a planned press conference at the last minute, which was expected to be a major event for around 700 journalists. It was supposed to include statements and officially note the transfer of leadership of the European Political Community from Spain to the United Kingdom.

The leaders' lack of enthusiasm for the summit was evident from the start of the day, as many invitees did not even bother to stop and exchange a few thoughts with the crowd of journalists waiting. Italian leader Giorgia Meloni walked past journalists while talking on her mobile phone. Neither German Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke with the press. Emmanuel Macron, who conceived the idea of creating a European Political Community, also had nothing to say on the way to the meeting.

At the end of the day, during one of the press conferences, the French president boldly addressed the events of the day. In addition to strengthening cooperation among the 47 members of the European Political Community in combating cybercrime, he presented the negotiations concerning Armenia, which took place in the absence of their fierce rival Azerbaijan, as a testament to the meeting's usefulness.

The Spanish administration has declined to explain why the main press conference was canceled. According to one EU diplomat, there were "no major issues" and there was hardly any need for press statements. "This is a mini-UN; it's a marketplace where leaders can act and make deals," said the diplomat.