bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

EU leaders meet without Britain in Bratislava on Friday to chart their post-Brexit future, focusing on defence cooperation and border security in a bid to heal deep divisions in particular over migration.
The 27 leaders hold a special summit in Bratislava castle overlooking the Danube in the Slovak capital, to launch a road map meant to be agreed in Rome in March next year on the 60th anniversary of the EU’s founding treaty.
[Leaders must] have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation
EU President Donald Tusk
With Europe still reeling from the worst migrant crisis since the second world war, deadly terror attacks and fallout from the 2008 financial meltdown, the leaders are hoping to show they can learn lessons from Britain’s seismic vote to leave. But they remain split about the answers.
EU President Donald Tusk said on the summit eve that the leaders must “have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation”.
He said he will present a road map he hopes will be a first step to show EU citizens that “we have learned the lessons from Brexit” and can restore stability.
In a sign of the tensions over migration, Luxembourg’s foreign minister this week called for Hungary to be suspended from the bloc for treating refugees like “animals”.
Yet European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker insisted in his main annual speech on Wednesday that the EU was “not at risk”, as he proposed a host of economic and security measures.
His proposal for a European military headquarters underscores how defence cooperation has become something for the 27 leaders to rally around when they can’t agree on anything else.

Stepping into the fray, France and Germany, the EU’s power couple, have prepared plans for a “more active” defence policy to restore confidence shaken by terror attacks, the migrant crisis and globalisation.
Meeting in Paris on the eve of the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called for a “road map” to protect Europe’s borders and remain a “continent of hope”.
Brexit has emboldened many in Europe to move ahead with such plans, now that they no longer have to worry about Britain’s long-term opposition to any European Union army which would undermine Nato’s role.
The EU leaders will not formally discuss Brexit negotiations, with the rest of Europe impatiently waiting for frozen-out British Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the two-year divorce process and set out its demands for a future relationship.
‘Hard core’ Brexit talks shouldn’t happen before end of 2017, says Van Rompuy
A senior EU official said former Polish premier Tusk – who has toured European capitals in recent weeks hearing the views of European leaders – wanted the Bratislava summit to “restore trust in the EU by showing that we got the [Brexit] message.”
“We cannot avoid having [this] discussion in Bratislava even if it will not always be nice – though I hope it will be polite!” the official said on condition of anonymity because of EU briefing rules.
Tusk is clear however that handing more power to Brussels “is not the desired recipe” as it fuelled support for Brexit.
The EU, a bloc of 500 million people, has been under siege since the 2008 global financial crash threw millions out of work and austerity policies undercut its claim that it alone guaranteed a better economic future.
Juncker vows Brexit won’t kill off European Union, unveils plans for military headquarters
Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, the migrant crisis and deadly Islamic State attacks in the heart of Europe in France and Belgium in turn have eroded confidence that the EU can protect its citizens.
Cracks in the union are evident everywhere.
Thrice-bailed out Greece last week gathered mostly centre and centre-left southern EU leaders in Athens to urge their northern counterparts to share more of the migrant burden and ease up on austerity.
In Eastern Europe, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia meanwhile oppose taking in more migrants and believe nation states are the future of the EU, not a centralised superstate.
Britain meanwhile is left out in the cold, with The Times newspaper saying said it was being treated as a “pariah state” and should have a say on issues which still affect it while it remains in the bloc


EU president urges ‘brutally honest assessment’ ahead of post-Brexit summit in Bratislava

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, delivers his state of the union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Photo: Bloomberg

Bratislava's castle is seen on the eve of the EU Informal Meeting of the 27 Heads of State in Bratislava on September 15, 2016 . The 27 EU leaders meet in Bratislava to chart their post-Brexit future and to launch a roadmap meant to be agreed in Rome in March next year on the 60th anniversary of the EU's founding treaty. Focus will be on defence cooperation and border security in a bid to heal deep divisions over migration in particular. / AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR

News

World

Europe