EU reaction to Brexit vote defeat – regret, calls for clarity and no-deal preparations

For the EU27, the Brexit negotiation has been a process of damage limitation. The EU respects but does not welcome Brexit. Some see Tusk’s reaction to the government’s parliamentary defeat as a door left ajar for the UK to remain in the EU. But, faced with a weakened British government that is unable to command parliamentary support for the withdrawal agreement, there is very little that the EU can do.
As Barnier put it during the interim between the Brexit referendum and the triggering of article 50: “I cannot negotiate on my own.” Ironically, with Brexit edging closer, Barnier finds himself in the same position – waiting for a reactive negotiating partner that wants to leave the EU but does not have sufficient domestic support coalescing around a unified solution to achieve this goal.