The 8th Summit of the European Political Community was held on 4 May 2026 in Yerevan, Armenia. The European Political Community is an intergovernmental forum that facilitates political and strategic dialogue about the future of Europe. It holds biannual summits.
Background Armenia was announced as the host of the 8th summit of the European Political Community on 23 May 2025, following the 7th European Political Community Summit held on 2 October 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan announced that the summit would be held on Monday, 4 May 2026, in Yerevan.
The 8th EPC summit was expected to be the largest international political event hosted by Armenia since its independence, with 48 heads of state and government from member states and partner countries expected to attend, together with invited delegates. Alongside the 8th EPC summit, three other high‑level events were planned on 4 and 5 May 2026, including the inaugural EU-Armenia bilateral summit, the state visit of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Yerevan Dialogue international forum.
At the first ever EU-Armenia summit, the President of the European Council, António Costa, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the EU, and the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will represent Armenia.
The event comes at an important moment for Armenia, given the Joint Declaration reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 in the presence of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, which has been further welcomed by the EU, their joint support for Armenia's Crossroads of Peace initiative and the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" (TRIPP) connectivity project in the territory of Armenia, as well as the alignment with two EPC strategic topics, including advancing connectivity and addressing evolving security dynamics and regional challenges.
A state visit by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will take place shortly after the solemn opening ceremony of the new building of the Embassy of Armenia in France, held in Paris on 28 April 2026 with the participation of Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, and France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot. As part of the state visit, Macron, accompanied by the Prime Minister of Armenia, will formalize a strategic partnership, visit Tsitsernakaberd and the Matenadaran, meet with the President of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, travel to Gyumri to honour the memory of the victims of the 1988 earthquake, and conclude the visit with the concert titled "Musical Bridge: Armenia-France" in Gyumri.
EU relations with Armenia are based on the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), effective since 2021, and the Strategic Agenda for the EU-Armenia Partnership, adopted in 2025.
Aims The 8th EPC summit is to focus on four strategic topics: Strengthening democratic resilience Advancing connectivity Reinforcing economic and energy security Addressing evolving security dynamics and regional challenges
Schedule and agenda The summit was scheduled to take place on Monday 04 May 2026 at the Karen Demirchyan Complex in Yerevan, Armenia. An official statement issued by the Police of the Republic of Armenia on 01 May 2026, operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, announced that security and traffic‑control measures would be in place from 4 to 5 May 2026 for the 8th EPC summit, the 1st EU-Armenia summit, the state visit of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Yerevan Dialogue international forum, considered unprecedented since Armenia's independence owing to the scale of the anticipated high‑level attendance.
Attendees Participating member states, partner countries and invited delegates
The summit was attended by the heads of state and government of the member states and partner countries participating in the European Political Community, together with the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Parliament and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, was the first representative to attend from a non-European country. Among the invited delegates, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, will travel to Yerevan to attend the 8th EPC summit and are expected to hold multiple bilateral meetings with leaders present at the EPC, including with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev did not attend the summit in person but gave remarks via video link.https://newsroom.consilium.europa.eu/events/20260504-eu-meeting-of-the-european-political-community-may-2026/153651-4-opening-remarks-by-president-of-azerbaijan-20260504
Participating member states and partner countries + Legend IP Invited and present H Host IB Invited but absent Member states and partner countries Represented by / Invited Title Attendance Albania Edi Rama Prime Minister IP AndorraXavier Espot Zamora Prime Minister IP Armenia Nikol Pashinyan Prime Minister H AustriaChristian StockerChancellor IB Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev President IB Belgium Bart De WeverPrime Minister IP Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović Chairman of the Presidency IP Bulgaria Iliana Iotova President IP Croatia Andrej PlenkovićPrime Minister IP Cyprus Nikos ChristodoulidesPresident IP Czech Republic Andrej BabišPrime Minister IP Denmark Mette FrederiksenPrime Minister IB Estonia Kristen MichalPrime Minister IP European Union António Costa President of the European Council IP Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission IP Roberta Metsola President of the European Parliament IP Kaja Kallas High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy IP Finland Petteri OrpoPrime Minister IP France Emmanuel Macron President IP Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze Prime Minister IP Germany Friedrich MerzChancellor IB Greece Konstantinos Tasoulas President IP Hungary Viktor OrbánPrime Minister IB IcelandKristrún FrostadóttirPrime Minister IB Ireland Micheál MartinTaoiseach IP Italy Giorgia MeloniPrime Minister IP KosovoAlbin Kurti Prime Minister IP Latvia Evika SiliņaPrime Minister IB Liechtenstein Brigitte Haas Prime Minister IP Lithuania Inga Ruginienė Prime Minister IP Luxembourg Luc Frieden Prime Minister IP Malta Robert AbelaPrime Minister IB Moldova Maia SanduPresident IP Monaco Albert II Sovereign Prince IP Montenegro Jakov MilatovićPresident IP Netherlands Rob JettenPrime Minister IB North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova President IP Norway Jonas Gahr StørePrime Minister IP Poland Donald TuskPrime Minister IP Portugal Luís MontenegroPrime Minister IB Romania Nicușor Dan President IP San Marino Luca BeccariSecretary of State for Foreign and Political Affairs IP SerbiaĐuro Macut Prime Minister IP Slovakia Robert FicoPrime Minister IP Slovenia Robert GolobPrime Minister IB Spain Pedro SánchezPrime Minister IP Sweden Ulf KristerssonPrime Minister IB Switzerland Guy Parmelin President IP Turkey Cevdet YılmazVice President IP Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy President IP United Kingdom Keir StarmerPrime Minister IP
Invited delegates Invited countries and entities Represented by Title Attendance Canada Mark Carney Prime Minister IPCouncil of EuropeAlain Berset Secretary General IPOrganization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeFeridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu Secretary-General IP North Atlantic Treaty Organization Mark Rutte Secretary General IP United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Leader of democratic forces of Belarus IP
Press releases This is a chronological list of press releases issued by the Government of Armenia, participating heads of state and government of the member states and partner countries as well as invited delegations.
Government of Armenia. (3 May 2026). The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan receives OSCE Secretary General. Government of Armenia. (3 May 2026). Nikol Pashinyan, Iliana Yotova meet in Armenia. Armenia and Bulgaria sign declaration on strategic partnership Prime Minister of Canada. (3 May 2026). Prime Minister Carney meets with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Government of Armenia. (3 May 2026). Nikol Pashinyan and Inga Ruginienė discussed the prospects for further developing Armenia-Lithuania relations. Visits by summit participants to national sites This is a chronological summary of the visits made by participating leaders to sites of cultural, historical, or political significance in the host country during the summit. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand visits Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan (3 May 2026) President of Greece Konstantinos Tasoulas visits Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan (3 May 2026) See also
Armenia–European Union relations Accession of Armenia to the European Union EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement Delegation of the European Union to Armenia European Union Mission in Armenia
References
External links 8th European Political Community Summit Meeting of the European Political Community, 4 May 2026 Press materials