Can the bond between Macron and Merkel keep the rest of the EU united?

Summitry is a staple of international diplomacy and the European Union is no exception. Summits raise expectations: of last-minute, heroic breakthroughs; of meaningful change.

• Helen Drake
• The Conversation

They exist to punctuate the tensions of international relations with images of harmony and hope that may well be illusory.

In the EU, summits are often a last resort to reach agreement.

Approaching the EU’s long-awaited summer summit in the final week of June, the stakes were high and expectations already low.

Among other structural flaws weakening the EU from within, the bedrock of the Franco-German friendship has been put under serious pressure by divergent ideas in…

• Can the bond…