BRATISLAVA - 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. EU President Donald Tusk said on the summit eve that the leaders must "have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation." 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. Cracks in unionA 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." 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.

Source: Viet Nam News September 16, 2016 04:40 UTC