Theresa May departed from Thursday’s summit with European leaders saying “I think I’d better leave now” as they prepared to discuss their plans for Brexit without her.
The prime minister left the meeting in Brussels without giving the customary press conference and refused to answer questions about how long it would take to negotiate a new deal.
Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, said that Mrs May had told EU leaders that she wanted an early agreement on the status of Britons living on the continent and EU citizens in the UK. “She would like to have the question of UK citizens living in Europe and EU citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions,” he said.
Donald Tusk, the European council president, said after Mrs May had left there had been a “short, informal meeting” that had “reconfirmed our principles”. He said representatives of the European parliament would be invited to preparatory meetings but “maybe it’s not enough” to placate angry MEPs.
Martin Schulz, the outgoing European parliament president, has warned that negotiations could be vetoed if MEPs were not fully involved, resulting in the “hardest Brexit possible”.
