Prince Albert II travelled to Yerevan on Monday to attend the eighth Summit of the European Political Community, joining more than 40 heads of state and government from across the continent for a high-level gathering centred on stability, security and European cooperation.
The summit was co-chaired by António Costa, President of the European Council, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and held under the motto ‘Building the Future: Unity and Stability in Europe’.
It marked the largest international political event Armenia has hosted since its independence. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended as a guest — the first time a non-European country has participated in a European Political Community summit.
Ecological transition and economic security
Prince Albert II took part in a roundtable titled ‘Strengthening connectivity and economic security in the context of the ecological transition’, in which he argued that ecological transition, economic security and development are inseparable goals that must not be set against one another. According to a Palace statement, the Prince stressed the need to reinforce European strategic autonomy while avoiding new dependencies, particularly in the energy sector, and called for sustainable growth models grounded in innovation, the circular economy and responsible resource management.
Fighting drug trafficking across Europe
The Prince also participated in a session dedicated to the European Coalition Against Drugs (ECAD), an initiative launched at the Copenhagen summit in October 2025 to strengthen cooperation between European states and institutions in combating narcotrafficking, illicit financial flows, and the development of prevention and harm-reduction policies.
Bilateral meetings on the sidelines
On the margins of the summit, Prince Albert held bilateral meetings with Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, with discussions including the upcoming Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on 1 July 2026. President Dan also presented the candidacy of former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș for the post of Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. The Prince additionally met with Xavier Espot Zamorra, head of government of Andorra, reflecting the two small European states’ shared commitment to closer bilateral cooperation.
The previous evening, Prince Albert attended a state dinner hosted by Prime Minister Pashinyan and Armenian President Vahagn Khatchatourian in honour of the summit’s participants.
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Main photo credit: Michael Alesi, Prince’s Palace