RIVEN by crisis and recrimination, the European Union has lost its way in recent years. The European Union was in a “critical situation” after Britain’s unprecedented vote in June to leave the club, warned Angela Merkel, the normally sober German chancellor, when she arrived at a European summit in Bratislava on September 16th. By the end of the day the 27 EU leaders—all bar Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, who was not invited—had drawn up a “Bratislava road-map” to give direction to their floundering club. But the way ahead remains as murky as ever.
Divisive issues were left for another day; so were serious policy proposals. Mrs Merkel and Donald Tusk, who presided over yesterday’s meeting, had spent the preceding weeks trying to find common ground among governments for a reboot of the European project. But their soundings revealed more disunion than harmony, so expectations for Bratislava were played down. Mr Tusk’s limited aim was to diagnose common problems and to identify areas of potential co-operation. Most importantly, he sought to produce a show of unity in a club split by many quarrels, particularly over the management of...Continue reading
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