Woodstock (England), July 18 (EFE).- Nearly 50 leaders who will participate in the European Political Community (EPC) meeting this Thursday have begun arriving at Blenheim Palace, northwest of London, where they will hold an intense day of bilateral meetings and interviews.

Starting at 8:15 a.m. local time (7:15 GMT) on a sunny day, the leaders will gradually make their way into the grand palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, where they will hold meetings with Ukraine and immigration at the top of the agenda.

The meeting will also be an opportunity for new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to introduce himself to the continent’s leaders, among whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a notable absence.

The informal nature of the meeting – no agreements were reached or final communiques signed – made it an ideal setting for a number of bilateral interviews and huddles in which leaders shared their positions on the key issues of the day.

Created by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 to provide space for non-EU countries to take part in the talks, the CPE will once again focus on Ukraine, with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in attendance at Blenheim Palace.

After an hour and a half for the first arrivals and bilaterals, a plenary session will be held, which will be replaced by different thematic roundtables, before closing the official agenda with a closing plenary in the afternoon.

According to Downing Street, the headquarters of the British Executive, the UK is seeking closer collaboration to tackle illegal immigration and greater cooperation on security and defence with other European countries.

To achieve this goal, representatives from NATO, OSCE and the Council of Europe have been invited to the CPE for the first time.

(c) EFE Agency