European leaders meet without the U.K. today for the first time in 43 years, aiming to build a shared vision for their post-Brexit bloc. The trouble is the vision may be more blurred than shared. At the summit in Bratislava, some will be looking to deepen integration. Others, particularly those in the east, think the lesson of Brexit is to return power to the capitals. Germany sits in the middle. The looming Brexit talks, a divisive refugee crisis, the rise of populist parties, differences over how to speed growth and upcoming elections all undermine the ability of governments to unite. Yet failure to do so risks holding back the economy further and potentially plunging the EU into extended malaise or, worse still, another crisis. “Europe is not at all in a good state,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday night. “That pains me, and I’m making every effort to allow us to rekindle that for which the community once stood.” Economists are worried too. As JPMorgan economists David Mackie and Malcolm Barr told clients in a report yesterday: “In the absence of a clear sense of direction and purpose the EU is likely to behave defensively and seek to maintain the delicate constellation of political bargains that constitutes the status quo. The lack of vision in the rest of the EU will create problems for the UK as it negotiates its exit.” Transatlantic Bank Echo U.S. bank groups urged Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to play a part in the Brexit talks by ensuring financial services aren’t hurt. Echoing lobby groups in the U.K., a collection of industry associations wrote to Lew to warn “Brexit, if not managed effectively, represents a significant risk to the financial markets and global economy.” They called for transparent talks and a “provisional, transitional” arrangements to ensure there is enough time for banks to adjust to whatever is decided. Corbyn Looks to Norway Britain’s opposition Labour Party is studying Norway’s relationship to the EU as a potential model for Britain. A member of the European Economic Area, Norway has free trade with the EU yet can still negotiate deals with other countries. The price of access is it must accept the free movement of labor and contribute to the EU budget–red lines for some in the pro-Brexit camp. It also can’t shape rules it is subjected to. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn told Bloomberg Television yesterday that he’s dispatching foreign-affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry to Oslo to examine how officials there manage ties with the EU. “Maybe we can learn a lot from Norway,” Corbyn said. Fixing the Roof While The Sun Shines The Brexit vote presented a golden opportunity for closely held U.S. company Standard Industries, which has $5.1 billion in annual sales and is attempting to become a global leader in the rooftile industry. Long keen to gain a foothold in Germany’s Braas Monier Building Group, Standard Industries’ offer of 25 euros ($28.11) a share to a group of hedge funds holding 40 percent of the stock was initially met with disdain, co-Chief Executive David Winter said in Frankfurt on Thursday. The referendum changed that, as investors keen to flee the market turmoil agreed to sell shares equivalent to 29.1 percent of Braas Monier’s equity capital to a unit of Standard Industries. “Brexit and everything else that occurred over the summer provided an opportunity for us to acquire a stake,” Winter said. On the Markets British shares climbed the most in almost two weeks on Thursday as the pound weakened on speculation the Bank of England may lower borrowing costs another time this year. And Finally… Seeking a “win-win” solution, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took his unique form of diplomacy to Rome yesterday to argue against each side slapping tariffs on the other when the time comes for Brexit. Declared Johnson: “Every year we drink 300 million liters of Prosecco, no one wants to see U.K. tariffs on Prosecco, we are the biggest drinkers of Italian wine in Europe, no one wants to see tariffs on Italian wine any more than, I think, the Italian government wants to see a detriment to the interests of the City of London.”