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		</div><p>European Union leaders have begun a weekend pilgrimage in Rome with the hope that a visit to the cradle of their project of unity can rekindle the vigour of youth.</p>
<p>Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the signature of their solemn bond in Rome, which started with six founding nations but steadily grew to 28.</p>
<p>But the biggest setback in the EU&#8217;s history looms next week when Britain officially triggers negotiations to become the first nation to leave the bloc.</p>
<p>At the Sistine Chapel, EU leaders posed with Pope Francis in front of the Michelangelo fresco The Last Judgment, which depicts the end of the world.</p>
<p>Six decades ago, few would have imagined the end of the EU could even be discussed. The mantra of the EU, ever closer union, pointed toward a seamless continent and an economic and political juggernaut.</p>
<p>Now others, beyond Britain with its divorce plans, are looking for more of a &#8220;living apart together&#8221; relationship.</p>
<p>The EU&#8217;s Rome summit, while vowing unity, could instead be a watershed moment in moving away from it and toward a more practical road of partial alliances on certain issues.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather have a two-speed Europe than a dead-end and no speed,&#8221;</i> Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of founding nation Luxembourg said in an interview with the Associated Press.</p>
<p>The highlight of Saturday&#8217;s ceremonies will be the adoption of a Rome Declaration, a blueprint for the way ahead.</p>
<p>But at least two countries continued to have objections to what many would consider a harmless statement to rally all member states.</p>
<p>It is that concern about paralysis that pushed the EU to look for other options.</p>
<p>If Britain does not show up this weekend in Rome, leaders will be looking at France with concern.</p>
<p>With French President Francois Hollande leaving in May, there is the spectre of a possible election victory by Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate and another anti-EU populist.</p>
<p>Further down the road are the elections in Germany in September, where the far-right Alternative for Germany could become a factor.</p>
<p>Even in the heart of Italy the EU is no longer at peace. The 5-Star Movement founded by comic Beppe Grillo is riding highest in the polls and wants a referendum on whether to stay in the eurozone.</p>
<p>It has been highly critical of most things EU.</p>
<p>Laura Agea, a member of the European parliament, said that what the EU&#8217;s founders set out to do with the 1957 treaty has been turned upside down.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s exactly the opposite. The drift under the eyes of bureaucrats and great financial powers has created a market anything but united,&#8221; highlighting the north versus south divide created by the financial crisis, Agea said.</p>
<p>This weekend&#8217;s largely symbolic events will not change that, said Luigi Di Maio of the 5-Star Movement, the vice president of Italy&#8217;s Chamber of Deputies.</p>
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