EU's first summit since Brexit could show cracks in group's unity

European Union leaders meet Friday for the first time without the United Kingdom to discuss how to keep the alliance together and avoid new defections now that Britain has voted to leave the bloc.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was not invited to the informal summit in Bratislava, Slovakia, USA Today newspaper reported.

Leaders of the remaining 27 EU nations will focus on how to keep the group relevant to their citizens and address mounting problems that have divided their countries: migration, terrorism and globalization.

"The summit seeks to send a clear signal that the EU remains strong and capable of reaching agreement and bringing improvements to the daily lives of its citizens," said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the summit's host.

The group wants to use the gathering to "show unity" and "promise less, deliver more" following the shock of the U.K.'s June referendum to exit from the EU — Brexit — after 43 years, according to a memo released this week by European Council President Donald Tusk's office. The council sets the EU's overall political direction.

The EU leaders have "two big topics on their plate," explained Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, a Brussels think tank. 

According to the memo, the council wants the EU to reduce the flow of migrants into Europe to avoid "the chaos of last year," when hundreds of thousands of migrants freely crossed EU borders to relocate in northern Europe.

Source: MENA