“Germany and France will very intensively play their part in the coming months in order to make all this a success,” Merkel at a press conference alongside Hollande. Some defense measures could be signed off at a full EU summit with Britain in December. European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker had meanwhile submitted his version on Thursday, including controversial plans to approve an EU military headquarters and combined military force by June 2017. The 27 leaders have insisted there will be no formal Brexit talks until Britain triggers the two-year divorce process and says what it wants. Maltese Premier Joseph Muscat quipped in a tweet: “Bratislava summit was so far a straightforward discussion of options for EU to move ahead.

Source: Manila Times September 16, 2016 19:41 UTC