David Cameron: British Prime minister

European Union leaders are meeting on Wednesday in a new 27-member format to discuss ways to bolster the bloc following Britain’s decision to leave it.

British Prime Minister David Cameron in a sign of things to come for his country took part in a first day of summit talks on Tuesday, but will not sit in the Brussels meeting.

“I think it is not about him today.

“Today is about us, what we are going to do about our unity and about preparation for [the] transitional period for British withdrawal,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said.

She said she and her peers needed to focus on what mattered for citizens, rather than political elites.

That means “immigration, economic growth,” she indicated.

According to diplomats, the 27 leaders were going to release a written statement laying out in broad terms their objective to reform the EU without going into details.

They are expected to continue discussions at another summit in September in Slovakia. (dpa/NAN)