Virus-free zone? EU leaders hold squeaky-clean summit in empty building

European Union leaders take part in the first face-to-face EU summit since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium July 17, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - In almost seven decades of European Union integration, Friday's summit in Brussels may go down in history as the most hygienic, as leaders gathered in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

Holding their first meeting in person since February, the 27 EU leaders sat in a chamber designed for more than 10 times that number, in an almost-empty building where meeting rooms were cleaned every time presidents and prime ministers took a break.