EU meet to focus on post-Brexit future

EUROPEAN political leaders, minus UK Prime Minister Theresa May, meet on Friday in Bratislava, Slovakia, on how the EU best moves forward post-Brexit. This could be a divisive agenda for the remaining 27 states, and one key focal point of discussion will therefore be on an area where there is broad consensus: enhancing security and border protection to emphasise the resilience and integrity of the continuing EU project.

EU internal and external security policy has come under intensified focus with recent terrorist atrocities on the continent; the ongoing migration crisis; Russia's assertive posture; and European Council president Donald Tusk has said that "people expect that the EU after Bratislava will again be a guarantor of stability, security and protection".

Moreover, there is also an added political "window of opportunity" to move forward on this agenda with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, having launched in June a new global strategy on foreign and security policy, the first such European document since 2003.