Britain and France on Sunday night snubbed a contentious EU emergency meeting to align the bloc’s approach to Donald Trump’s election, exposing rifts in Europe over the US vote.
Hailed by diplomats as a chance to “send a signal of what the EU expects” from Mr Trump, the plan fell into disarray after foreign ministers from the bloc’s two main military powers declined to attend the gathering demanded by Berlin and Brussels.
The setback comes as markets wait for Mr Trump to announce key appointments in his team. They are watching closely for a sign of which face the president-elect wishes to present to the world: appointing his campaign chairman Steve Bannon to the role of chief-of-staff will send a different message to appointing the more moderate Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman.