Europe's EPC intergovernmental forum meets in Yerevan without Merz

A summit of the European Political Community (EPC), a forum set up in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will go ahead in Armenia on Monday for the first time without the presence of the German chancellor.

"The chancellor cannot undertake the trip on account of other obligations," a government spokeswoman told dpa on Saturday.

She noted that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had participated in two of the EPC's eight summits to date and said he was in constant contact with many of the around 50 participants in the group.

Founded at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron with the purpose of creating greater unity within the European Union and other states in the region, the EPC's first summit was held in Prague.

Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, participated in five summits, and Merz was in attendance at the last two in Albania and Denmark last year.

Almost all European countries attend the summit, including Ukraine and Turkey, although Russia and Belarus are excluded.

The summits do not take decisions, but serve rather as an informal exchange between political leaders.

The Armenian hosts aim to place energy security, economic development, security policy and strengthening democracy on the agenda at the one-day summit in Yerevan.