http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/world/europe/eu-summit-slovakia-brexit-migration.html 2016-09-15 16:54:05 E.U. Leaders, Struggling to Respond to Crises, Gather in Slovakia Representatives of 27 member nations — all but Britain, which voted in June to leave the bloc — remain divided over illegal migration, security and the economy. === After failing to quell a succession of crises, The leaders are also expected to discuss upgrading their defense cooperation and cracking down on clandestine migration. But the meeting is Three months after the vote for “ Still, the summit meeting will be rich in symbolism: Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain will be excluded, a signal that the survival of the European Union will require the other 27 member states to make a fresh start. A priority for many European leaders is halting The leaders are mindful that the European Union is widely regarded in some member states as an elite project that diminishes national sovereignty, and of the extent to which that has lifted The rise of Donald J. Trump Yet there are powerful players like Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, who continue to encourage joint European action in a wide range of areas, despite the discord. “Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little commonality in our union,” Mr. Juncker said on Wednesday in an annual State of the European Union speech. But, “only together are we, and will we, remain a force to be reckoned with.” Mr. Juncker also used his speech to voice support for the greater use of common military forces, the expansion of a joint investment fund that would amount to €630 billion, or about $700 billion, by early next decade, and the creation of a European equivalent of the Peace Corps, a volunteer program run by the American government. Germany’s decision to open its doors The host of the meeting on Friday, Slovakia, is suing the European Union authorities over Hungary will hold a referendum The generally wealthier countries of northern Europe remain at odds with the poorer and more debt-ridden south over economic policy in general and austerity in particular. The bloc may soon need to decide how to prevent Europe will also need to decide soon on whether to pursue while President Obama is still in office the As the bloc tries to define Germany and several other countries, including the Netherlands, prefer a pragmatic approach that would offer Britain different options to preserve economic ties with Europe. Others, notably France, favor a tougher approach, to discourage other member states from leaving the bloc. The European leaders will press for something that would almost certainly not be on the agenda if Britain were still at the table: joint military headquarters. Leaders will also discuss expanding readily deployable European Union forces and increasing joint cooperation on military procurement. Britain had long impeded steps that might have led to a joint European Union military, preferring to maintain Leaders are also expected on Friday to endorse allocating more police officers and equipment to help Bulgaria guard its southeastern border with Turkey and to help prevent another wave of mass migration. The meeting will also include a discussion of plans to increase joint spending on infrastructure projects to help stimulate growth at a time when In early July, as his nation took over the revolving presidency of the bloc, There is growing disquiet in Central and Eastern Europe that policy making in Brussels has been dominated by larger countries like France and Germany — The looming question is how much the meeting in Bratislava can contribute to addressing Europe’s biggest challenge: reversing the notion that pro-European leaders and the Brussels bureaucracy are promulgating a vision of Europe that is increasingly out of step with the political sentiment in much of the bloc. Donald Tusk