EU countries need to discuss where the bloc should be heading to, Merkel says

BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - European Union countries need to deepen talks about where the 27-nation bloc should be heading to in order to mitigate and solve disputes such as the current row with Poland over the rule of law, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday.

"There is the issue of the independence of justice, but also underlying (the question) ... which way is the European Union heading, what should be a European competence and what should be tackled by nation states," Merkel told reporters in Brussels after what was likely her last EU summit.

"If you look at Polish history, it is very understandable that the question of defining their national identity plays a big role..., which is a different historical situation than the one countries find themselves in that have had democracy since World War 2," she (Reporting by Sabine Siebold; editing by Foo Yun Chee)