The 28-nation European Union, which held a summit in Brussels this week, faces a growing political chasm along geographic lines that resembles the sharp red state-blue state divide in the United States.

In the case of the EU, it's East vs. West. In Eastern Europe, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are lurching to the right. In Western Europe, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (which will soon depart the alliance) are in the center or edging left.

Here are issues pulling the EU in different directions, and why it's happening:

MIGRANTS

More than two years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed more than 1 million asylum seekers from conflict zones in predominantly Muslim countries to seek shelter in Europe's largest economy, what to do about refugees has produced one of the deepest divides.

The flow of migrants to Europe has slowed since the EU blocked their arrival in Greece and Italy under a deal with Turkey to retain them there and in North Africa, but the debate over their fate is still raging.

France, Germany and Italy have repeatedly called for EU countries to accept a plan that equitably distributes refugees across the entire bloc. Eastern European countries, where opposition to admitting refugees is strong, are refusing to implement it.

INTEGRATION

In his state of the EU address in September, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reiterated a long-held belief among the bloc's Western axis: Member states should pursue deeper integration on defense and borders and economic policy for the 19 countries that use the euro currency.

However, countries in Central and Eastern Europe remain wary of such a move and would prefer if the EU focused on reducing income disparities between the wealthy West and poorer East.

The "at-risk-of-poverty-rate," one measure of the economic gap between the two regions, is 11.6% in the Netherlands and 25.4% in Romania, according to the most recent EU data.

"People speak about integration. That is just a nice general word. I think we should focus more on the common efficiency of Europe, on convergence, on cohesion," Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek told the Financial Times this month.

Richard G. Whitman, an expert on European politics at the University of Kent in England, said newer member countries like Poland and Hungary are part of a "coalition of the difficult" for the EU, while France's staunchly pro-unity president, Emmanuel Macron, represents the "EU on steroids."

The right-wing parties in Western Europe have run anti-EU campaigns but a majority of voters outside of Britain showed at the ballot box that they remain committed to the alliance. Leaders gathered in Brussels will assess what progress has been made in negotiations over Britain's exit from the EU, expected in 2019.

AUTHORITARIAN RULE

In the West, nationalist political parties have made gains in recent elections in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, but remain small non-governing minorities. In the East, populist parties have been voted into power and used harassment and prosecution to implement contentious measures considered by opponents to be anti-democratic.

Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party has sought to consolidate its power by trying to take control of the country's courts and judicial system. It has also increased police powers of surveillance and placed some limitations on the right to assembly.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing Fidesz Party has supported a crackdown on civil groups that promote human rights, curbed the powers of the country's highest court and characterized Muslims as a threat to Western civilization.

In Austria's elections last Sunday, voters put Sebastian Kurz, 31, of the right-wing People's Party in line to be the world's youngest leader of a nation. His elevation to chancellor was made possible by an alliance been the first-place People's Party and the second-place Freedom Party, which was founded by neo-Nazis and won 27% of the vote.

More:Who is Sebastian Kurz, Austria's Millennial chancellor-in-waiting?

In the Czech Republic, Andrej Babis, a controversial billionaire who faces criminal fraud charges and has been dubbed the "Czech Trump" for his politically incorrect utterances, is the front-runner in an election that takes place Friday and Saturday.