New rifts surface as EU mulls future without Britain
BRUSSELS — Top European Union officials struggled Friday to reassure smaller countries from the east that they would not be left behind as the bloc charts its future without Britain.
At a summit in Brussels marred by a rift with Poland, the presidents of the European Council and executive Commission repeated calls for unity as the remaining 27 nations debate whether the world’s biggest trading bloc should centralize more power in Brussels or temper its ambitions.
“Our main objective should be to strengthen trust and unity within the 27,” European Council President Donald Tusk said after chairing the final session of the two-day meeting. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The session was meant to focus on preparations for a grand meeting in Italy on March 25 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the EU’s founding Treaty of Rome, but spiraled into an argument about whether heavyweight states should be allowed to forge ahead alone.