Liz Truss has openly questioned the UK’s relationship with Europe in the past, insisting Brexit has allowed the country to move on and stand on its own two feet.
So it may be surprising to some that the new prime minister has joined 44 other European leaders in Prague to form ‘a European political community without Putin’s Russia’.
She insists the newly formed European Political Community (EPC), proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron in May this year, is not an ‘EU construct or EU alternative’.
It includes 27 members of the EU, as well as 17 other European countries not currently in the bloc, including Turkey and Ukraine, to discuss issues facing the whole continent.
According to Downing Street, Ms Truss’s attendance in Prague was only confirmed late last week.
She made the somewhat surprising decision to attend, after initially expressing scepticism about the idea.
‘Thank you for being here, ‘ Mr Macron told the Prime Minister, who smiled back as the two sat surrounded by officials.
Downing Street added the PM will seek to stress the UK’s role in European matters – including Ukraine – despite leaving the EU.
Writing in The Times, Ms Truss insisted that after Brexit the UK should still be involved with discussions which affect ‘the entire continent and all of us here at home’.
As part of the talks in Prague, all the leaders will discuss issues like energy, migration and security, with a particular focus on the war in Ukraine.
Other non-EU leaders from Turkey, Norway and the Balkan countries are also in attendance.
Ms Truss is set to tell the session in Prague: ‘Europe is facing its biggest crisis since the Second World War. And we have faced it together with unity and resolve.
‘We must continue to stand firm – to ensure that Ukraine wins this war, but also to deal with the strategic challenges that it has exposed.
‘The threat was left to fester for far too long. Now, at last, we are tackling Putin’s aggression head on.
‘And we should take the same approach with other challenges before us – including long-standing regional issues like energy and migration.
‘Instead of the old approach which merely dealt with the symptoms, it’s time to address the fundamental causes.’
But there has been more turmoil for the new PM closer to home as former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, a backer of Ms Truss during the leadership campaign – warned she must change course to avoid a landslide general election defeat.
Ms Dorries told The Times: ‘I understand that we need to rocket-booster growth but you don’t do that by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You don’t win elections by lurching to the right and deserting the centre ground for Keir Starmer to place his flag on.
‘If we continue down this path, we absolutely will be facing a Stephen Harper-type wipeout. I’m sure she’s listened and will stop and rethink.’
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