BRUSSELS 芒鈧珺次元官网网址� Former European Union President Herman van Rompuy says that Europe needs to become "much more ambitious" and that a common foreign policy for the 28-nation bloc is more necessary than ever.

The EU is debating how to move forward as Britain prepares to leave and the bloc faces wider tensions. Van Rompuy said Tuesday that "even without Brexit, without a Russian threat ... and the confusing messages from Washington," his centre-right European People's Party 芒鈧珺次元官网网址� the biggest in the European Parliament 芒鈧珺次元官网网址� sees a "need to become much more ambitious."

He said that in some areas, all EU countries will have to work together. On foreign policy, he said that "there is no place for a stand-alone."

But in other areas, he said "we can perform better with less regulation."

The Associated Press