Leaders of the European Union met in Rome on Saturday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty and demonstrate that the EU can survive the impending departure of major power Britain. The unity of Europe is not a bureaucratic model. It has also amplified the petty frictions among the more than two dozen national governments and obliged leaders' aides to water down a grand birthday declaration of unity. At the Vatican on Friday, Pope Francis told EU leaders that their Union had achieved much in 60 years but that Europe faced a "vacuum of values". Report by Jan Strupczewski and Isla Binnie (Rome); Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Crispian Balmer; Reuters

Source: Egypt Independent March 25, 2017 13:30 UTC