Free trade or fortress Europe? The battle for the soul of the EU economy

A 16th-century Flemish castle is the setting on Thursday as European leaders try to resolve a set of economic tensions haunting Europe that are almost as old: the pull between free trade and protection, integration and sovereignty. On the agenda are prickly items such as how to kick-start the EU economy, whether to issue joint debt and how far to go with “buy Europe” provisions aimed at unpicking reliance on China and the United States. Seven years after European Commission President Ursula von...