BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders endorsed stiff divorce terms for Britain on Saturday and warned Britons to have “no illusions” about swiftly securing a new relationship to keep their access to EU markets.

At a Brussels summit marked by unusual harmony among the 27 leaders, there was a flash of the cross-Channel acrimony which some fear could wreck any deal when officials accused London of cynically vetoing some EU spending and demanded it back down or face disrupting the start of talks next month.

Meeting for the first time since Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the two-year countdown to Brexit in late March, her counterparts took just minutes as they sat down to lunch in Brussels to approve eight pages of negotiating guidelines hammered out by their diplomats over the past month.

They greeted the decision with applause, officials said.

The text will bind Michel Barnier, their chief negotiator, to seek a deal that secures the rights of 3 million EU expats living in Britain, ensures London pays tens of billions of euros Brussels thinks it will be owed, and avoids destabilizing peace by creating a hard EU-UK border across the island of Ireland.

“We are ready,” Barnier said. “We are together.”

With Barnier expecting to launch negotiations after the June 8 election May called to strengthen her position, the EU leaders also firmly ruled out discussing the free trade deal May wants until they see “significant progress” on key withdrawal terms.

“Before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past,” summit chair Donald Tusk told reporters.

He criticized British politicians — who have included May herself — for speaking of a quick deal to reassure expatriates when the legal complexities required much more detailed talks.

“We need a serious British response,” Tusk said.

In London, Britain’s minister for leaving the European Union said he wanted the negotiations to be conducted in a “spirit of goodwill”.

“But there is no doubt that these negotiations are the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes. They will be tough and, at times, even confrontational,” David Davis said in a statement in response to the guidelines.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated her concern that some in Britain had “illusions” about quick trade talks.

“I sometimes feel some people in Britain, and I don’t mean the government, are not so clear on the idea that there is an exit phase and then a phase on the future relationship,” she said.

BRITISH “UNDERESTIMATE” DIFFICULTIES

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU chief executive, took an even more combative tone, saying his officials had identified a “cocktail” of 25 different legal issues to settle just regarding expatriate residence rights.

European Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier walks past the Union Jack flag as he arrives at the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

“I have the impression sometimes that our British friends — not all of them — underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face,” he told reporters, three days after he and Barnier met May over dinner in London for “constructive” talks.

Raising publicly the Commission’s irritation with Britain over its 11th-hour decision to withhold consent on Wednesday to some 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in EU spending on approved programs, notably to handle the Mediterranean migrant crisis, Juncker warned that the issue could affect the start of talks.

British officials said the “reserve” imposed via a Tuesday night email on a package of measures due to have been approved by EU ambassadors on Wednesday morning was a simple procedural matter prompted by the “purdah” period before elections, during which ministers prefer not to take “sensitive” decisions.

Juncker was unimpressed: “It would facilitate the beginning of the negotiations if the UK were to be able to withdraw the reserve,” he said.

EU officials questioned British motives, saying it appeared unprecedented and affected policies which Britain had agreed during months of prior deliberation: “This is clearly not a technical decision,” one said. “It could be show of force.”

An unusual unity has been forged by the shock of Brexit which broke a taboo and raised fears of further break-up at the hands of nationalists like far-right leader Marine Le Pen. She will contest France’s presidential election run-off on May 7, though few expect her to beat centrist Emmanuel Macron.

The EU considers it vital that Britain not be seen to profit from Brexit, to dissuade others from following suit.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned against falling into a “trap” where Britain divided the bloc to its advantage.

Also contentious among the 27 will be which cities scoop the prizes of hosting two EU agencies set to be moved from London.

Slideshow (9 Images)

With most of the 27 offering to house the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and several wanting the European Banking Authority (EBA), Tusk and Juncker proposed they agree selection criteria in June to avoid unseemly rows.

In a mark of how last year’s Brexit vote has called into question the unity of the United Kingdom itself, leaders also offered Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny a pledge that if Northern Ireland, which voted against Brexit, ever unites with his country, it will automatically be in the EU.</s>European Union leaders are poised to support allowing Northern Ireland, if it unites with Ireland, to automatically become part of the multi-nation bloc after Britain’s departure via Brexit.

Leaders of 27 EU nations attending a Saturday summit in Brussels plan to confirm their positions favoring a motion by Ireland, an EU member, to allow Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, to remain in the group.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said he wants the final deal on Britain’s exit from the EU to guarantee that if Ireland and Northern Ireland unite, Northern Ireland would bypass the lengthy process for a country to join the EU.

The deal should guarantee that “at some future time, whenever that might be, if it were to occur, that Northern Ireland would have ease of access to join as a member of the European Union again,” Kenny told reporters during a February visit to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch in Brussels.

Kenny pointed to the former East Germany, which he said followed a “seamless” process to immediately become a member of the EU when it reunited with West Germany in 1990.

Though negotiations between Britain and the EU are expected to last two years and cover many topics, including trade and immigration, Ireland’s position apparently generated strong backing going into the Brussels summit Saturday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week said the 27 EU nations negotiating with Britain were united behind Ireland.

"There are many special interests, if we just think of the Republic of Ireland and its shared space with Great Britain and the problems in Northern Ireland,” Merkel said during a speech in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. “That's why it was a good accomplishment to stick together like this.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May, meanwhile, has promised to make Ireland one of her main priorities as she negotiates Britain’s break from the EU. May has described avoiding a “hard border” with Ireland — which would mean checkpoints or passport controls.

The 310-mile border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is the only land boundary between Britain and Europe.

The sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as the “Troubles” that began in 1968 involved Protestants loyal to Britain and Catholics who wanted a united Ireland. More than 3,600 people died and 40,000 were wounded.

The hostilities ended with the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which among other things allowed travelers to go back and forth between the countries without checks.

Britain has “an important responsibility to make sure that nothing is done to jeopardize the peace process in Northern Ireland, and to continue to uphold the Belfast Agreement,” May wrote in a letter last month to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, said in March that the group will be “particularly attentive” in the talks “to anything that may, in one way or another, weaken dialogue and peace” in Ireland.

If and when Ireland and Northern Ireland might unite remains unknown, considering that so-called Brexit negotiations between Britain and the EU are expected to run into 2019.

In Britain’s June 2016 referendum on whether to remain in or leave the EU, voters in Northern Ireland favored remaining 56% to 44%. But the overall result for Britain’s voters was 52% to 48% to leave.

The minutes of Saturday’s summit are to include a paragraph stating that a united Ireland would be an EU member.

The reference to a united Ireland reflects months of the Irish government's lobbying efforts. Kenny has traveled to Brussels and several European capitals to convince other leaders that the Brexit agreement must guarantee an invisible border in Ireland and close trade links to the United Kingdom.

Tusk, in a letter Friday to leaders of EU countries, named Ireland as one of three top priorities that “must come first” in the Brexit negotiations. Others include the rights of citizens and the money Britain will need to pay the EU before it leaves — more than $60 billion, according to some estimates.</s>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders approved on Saturday guidelines for their chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, setting priorities that the Union of 27 governments staying in the bloc wants to achieve in talks on Britain's withdrawal.

Below are key points of the 8-page guidelines:

If "sufficient progress" towards agreeing the terms of an "orderly withdrawal" on March 29, 2019, is made in a first phase of talks starting probably in June, the EU27 could launch talks on how a long-term future free trade relationship could work.

That represents a compromise between the position of EU hardliners, who want no trade talks until the full Brexit deal is agreed, and British calls for an immediate start.

The chairman of EU leaders, Donald Tusk, told reporters the EU could assess if progress was "sufficient" as early as autumn, but officials noted the decision would ultimately be a political one and hinge on a recommendation from Barnier.

Barnier's recommendation will depend on progress in talks on Britain's contributions to the EU budget and on the way London would treat some 3 million EU expats now living in Britain.

Britain could have a few years after March 2019 when it does not have to give up all benefits of membership, to ease the shift for people and businesses. But in that case it would have to accept EU rules, e.g. on free migration, and submit to supervision by the European Court of Justice and other EU authorities.

"Any such transitional arrangements must be clearly defined, limited in time, and subject to effective enforcement mechanisms. Should a time-limited prolongation of Union acquis be considered, this would require existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures to apply," the guidelines say.

The EU 27 will stick together against British efforts to divide and conquer and is prepared to play hardball against Prime Minister Theresa May's threat to walk out without a deal. Brussels thinks Britain needs a deal more than the EU.

"In accordance with the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, individual items cannot be settled separately. The Union will approach the negotiations with unified positions, and will engage with the United Kingdom exclusively through the channels set out in these guidelines and in the negotiating directives. So as not to undercut the position of the Union, there will be no separate negotiations between individual Member States and the United Kingdom on matters pertaining to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union."

Free trade will be a good outcome but Britain should not expect to get that if it seeks competitive advantages for its companies by state subsidies or by tearing up EU environmental or labor standards or setting itself up as a tax haven.

"Any free trade agreement should be balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging. It cannot, however, amount to participation in the Single Market or parts thereof, as this would undermine its integrity and proper functioning. It must ensure a level playing field, notably in terms of competition and state aid, and in this regard encompass safeguards against unfair competitive advantages through, inter alia, tax, social, environmental and regulatory measures and practices.

"Any future framework should safeguard financial stability in the Union and respect its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application."

Britain cannot have a better deal outside than inside the EU -- that would be a slippery slope to others leaving the Union. The guidelines stress there can be no "cherry picking" from the benefits of single market membership without accepting freedom of movement for EU workers.

"Preserving the integrity of the Single Market excludes participation based on a sector-by-sector approach. A non-member of the Union, that does not live up to the same obligations as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member. In this context, the European Council welcomes the recognition by the British Government that the four freedoms of the Single Market are indivisible and that there can be no 'cherry picking'. The Union will preserve its autonomy as regards its decision-making as well as the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union."

Britain must pay its share of potential losses from guarantees given by the EU, among other things. Until it leaves, the actual bill probably can't be calculated with accuracy. The main thing for the EU is to agree this year on a methodology of how to calculate it and then put the latest numbers into the formula when Britain leaves in March 2019.

"A single financial settlement - including issues resulting from the MFF (Multiannual financial framework - the EU's 7-year budget which ends in 2020) as well as those related to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Development Fund (EDF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) - should ensure that the Union and the United Kingdom both respect the obligations resulting from the whole period of the UK membership in the Union. The settlement should cover all commitments as well as liabilities, including contingent liabilities."

The EU doesn't want to disturb peace in Northern Ireland, where there will be a new EU land border. It is also paying attention to British military bases in Cyprus and is giving Spain a special say on the fate of the British territory of Gibraltar, which is not part of the UK but is in the EU.

"In view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, flexible and imaginative solutions will be required, including with the aim of avoiding a hard border, while respecting the integrity of the Union legal order. In this context, the Union should also recognize existing bilateral agreements and arrangements between the United Kingdom and Ireland which are compatible with EU law."

Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2017. Follow Reuters on Twitter.</s>European Union leaders have unanimously agreed on the guidelines that the bloc will follow when negotiating with the UK over its exit from the union.The talks to approve the guidelines were chaired by European Council President Donald Tusk on Saturday. The special summit, which was attended by the leaders of the 27 member states, took less than 15 minutes to unanimously agree upon the guidelines, which Tusk issued last month.After the talks, Tusk tweeted that a "firm and fair political mandate" for the talks was ready.The negotiations will begin after the UK's general election on June 8.Speaking before the talks Tusk said : "We all want a close and strong future relationship with the UK. There's absolutely no question about it. But before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past.""We will handle it with genuine care, but firmly. This is, I think, the only possible way to move forward."The guidelines indicate that the union is willing to hold talks on a future trade deal with the UK before Brexit is complete only if there is "significant progress" on the "divorce negotiations."Key issues are expected to focus on citizens' rights, the border on the island of Ireland, and outstanding bills.Additionally, the 27 leaders voted to support automatic union membership for Northern Ireland should it ever vote to unify with the Republic of Ireland. They also backed Spain having a veto on any deal that concerns Gibraltar.French President Francois Hollande warned that there will be a "price and a cost for the UK - it's the choice that was made.""We must not be punitive, but at the same time it's clear that Europe knows how to defend its interests, and that Britain, the UK, will have a less good position tomorrow outside the EU than today in the EU," Hollande said according to the BBC President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker has called on the UK to stop blocking EU spending, saying it would help the negotiations. He also said that some in Britain underestimate the difficulties that will be involved in coming to an agreement, according to Reuters.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a press conference on Saturday that the EU wants good relations with the UK in the future, "but we also want to represent our interests."She also stressed that there is no alliance against the UK."[It's] very natural that we 27 now want to speak with one voice. [That] doesn't mean we have an alliance against the UK," Merkel said, adding that the bloc needs a better understanding of what the UK wants before it can negotiate a trade deal.</s>Meeting in Brussels on April 29, twenty-seven European Union heads of state and government unanimously – and rapidly – agreed on the guidelines for the Brexit negotiations.

Procedurally, as provided in EU rules, precisely because it is the departing state, the UK was not at the meeting.

In a tweet, European Council President Donald Tusk, who chaired the meeting, described the mandate for the negotiations as “firm and fair”.

Tusk told a news conference after the summit: “I want to underline the outstanding unity of all the 27 leaders on the guidelines for our negotiations with the UK…we now have unanimous support from all the 27 member states and the EU institutions, giving us a strong political mandate for these negotiations.”

“We are united not only on the substance, but also on the method of conducting the Brexit talks,” Tusk said, adding that he was referring to the phased approach accepted by the EU leaders at the April 29 meeting.

“This means that before negotiating our future relations with the UK, we must first achieve sufficient progress on citizens’ rights, finances and the border issue in Ireland. It is too early to speculate on when this might happen. However, it is important to highlight that it will be for the EU leaders to assess, and decide, if sufficient progress has been made. And this will be a unanimous decision of all the 27 heads.”

Tusk said that priority number one was “citizens, whose rights we want to respect and secure in the first place.”

The discussion had made clear that when it comes to reaching a decision on citizens’ rights, not only speed is of the essence – but above all, quality, as so many people’s lives depend on it, he said.

“We are talking about four and a half million people: Europeans residing in the UK, and Britons living on the continent. Over the past weeks, we have repeatedly heard from our British friends – also during my visit in London – that they are ready to agree on this issue quickly.

“But I would like to state very clearly that we need real guarantees for our people to live, work and study in the UK, and the same goes for the British.”

Tusk said that the European Commission has prepared a full list of rights and benefits that it wanted to guarantee for those affected by Brexit.

“In order to achieve sufficient progress, we need a serious British response. I want to assure you that as soon as the UK offers real guarantees for our citizens, we will find a solution rapidly,” he said.

The guidelines will define the framework for negotiations and set out the overall EU positions and principles during the talks.

The European Council will update the guidelines in the course of the negotiations as necessary.

In the guidelines, the European Council states that the EU27 will keep its unity and act as one during the negotiations.

Core principles are that the EU leaders reiterate their wish to have the UK as a close partner, reiterate that any future deal will need to be based on a balance of rights and obligations and ensure a level playing field, emphasise that the integrity of the single market must be preserved, “which means the four freedoms are indivisible and excludes any cherry-picking”.

The other core principles state that a non-EU member cannot enjoy the same rights and benefits as a EU member.

The 27 heads of state and government agreed that the first phase of negotiations should aim to provide as much clarity and legal certainty as possible, and settle the disentanglement of the UK from the EU.

“The European Council will monitor progress closely and determine when sufficient progress has been achieved to allow negotiations to proceed to the next phase,” a statement after the summit said.

An agreement on a future relationship between the EU and the UK can only be concluded once the UK has become a third country, meaning, after it has left the EU, the statement said.

“However, leaders declare readiness, during a second phase of negotiations, to start preliminary and preparatory discussions on the framework for that future relationship.”

The two year timeframe set out in Article 50 ends on March 29 2019.

The European Council meeting emphasised the importance of safeguarding the rights of citizens affected by Brexit.

They highlighted the need to avoid a legal vacuum for business, and referred to a single financial settlement that should ensure the EU and the UK respect their obligations.

In view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, the European Council stressed the need to support the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Until it leaves the Union, the United Kingdom remains a full member of the EU, subject to all rights and obligations set out in the Treaties and under EU law, the statement said.

“All ongoing EU business must continue to proceed as smoothly as possible at 28, and the negotiations with the United Kingdom will be kept separate from ongoing Union business, and shall not interfere with its progress.”

After the adoption of the guidelines by the European Council and based on a recommendation from the Commission, the General Affairs Council on 22 May 2017 is expected to authorise the opening of negotiations, nominate the Commission as the EU negotiator, and adopt negotiation directives.</s>Taoiseach Enda Kenny will on Saturday ask European Union leaders to agree that, if the people of Northern Ireland vote to join a united Ireland, the “entire territory” would immediately be part of the EU.

They are expected to approve a declaration about the status of a united Ireland during a three-hour meeting in Brussels to agree a common approach to negotiations about Brexit.

The draft declaration says: “The European Council acknowledges that the Good Friday Agreement expressly provides for an agreed mechanism whereby a united Ireland may be brought about through peaceful and democratic means. In this regard, the European Council acknowledges that, in accordance with international law, the entire territory of such a united Ireland would thus be part of the European Union.”

EU officials told The Irish Times last night that a statement, known in Brussels as the “Kenny text”, has already been approved in principle by all member states and “is going to be accepted”.

The declaration, which echoes the experience of East Germany after German unification in 1990, will be recorded as a “statement for the minutes”, the equivalent of council conclusions at a formal summit.

Officials at the European institutions insist that the declaration does not imply that the EU favours a united Ireland over any other constitutional arrangement for Northern Ireland.

Downing Street declined to comment yesterday and prime minister Theresa May would not say anything about the EU’s negotiating guidelines until after they were officially approved at today’s summit.

Privately, however, British officials are relaxed about the statement, which echoes what Brexit secretary David Davis said in a letter to SDLP MP Mark Durkan last month.

The leaders are expected to take a tough approach in negotiations on Brexit, making clear that Britain cannot enjoy the economic benefits of EU membership after it leaves.

In a letter to the leaders ahead of the summit, European Council president Donald Tusk stressed that there could be no discussion about a future trade deal with Britain before sufficient progress is made on issues surrounding its withdrawal.

“This is not only a matter of tactics, but – given the limited time frame we have to conclude the talks – it is the only possible approach. In other words, before discussing our future, we must first sort out our past,” he said.

Mr Tusk identified the immediate priorities as the rights of EU citizens in Britain and British citizens in the EU, a settlement of Britain’s financial obligations, and measures to avoid a hard border between the two parts of Ireland.

“I would like us to unite around this key principle during the upcoming summit, so that it is clear that progress on people, money and Ireland must come first. And we have to be ready to defend this logic during the upcoming negotiations,” he said.</s>BRUSSELS (REUTERS) - European Union leaders promised on Saturday (April 29) to embrace the British province of Northern Ireland into the EU if a referendum in the future were to unite it with the Republic of Ireland.

At a summit on the EU's plan for negotiating with Britain as it leaves the bloc, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny asked fellow members to acknowledge that Northern Ireland would, like East Germany in 1990, automatically enter the EU in the event of unification with existing member state.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement to end violence in Northern Ireland foresees the holding of referendums on both sides of the border on uniting the island if London and Dublin see public support for that.

European Union leaders gave their political endorsement to what Irish and EU legal experts say is the position in international law of such territorial changes.

"This is not about triggering any mechanism, ... the conditions for a referendum do not currently exist, but the acknowledgement of the principle, the potential, within the Good Friday agreement, is hugely important," Kenny told reporters after the summit.

Some EU officials said the declaration was a statement of "the obvious" and have stressed the summit was not taking a view on unification.

"The six counties (of Northern Ireland) remain part of the United Kingdom unless and until the people decide make a different choice by a democratic means in other words by a referendum," Kenny said.

Kenny said Britain, whose prime minister Theresa May was absent from the summit, has itself taken the same view on EU membership for Northern Ireland. Brexit minister David Davis acknowledged last month that, if it united with the Republic, it would be entitled to be absorbed into the EU.

Calls for a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom have picked up since Northern Ireland, like Scotland, voted to remain in the EU, while the United Kingdom's two other nations, England and Wales, chose to leave in last year's Brexit vote.

Elections in Northern Ireland in March denied pro-British unionists a majority in the province for the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921, further emboldening Irish nationalists and their main political representatives Sinn Fein.

But Kenny has consistently said that now is not the right time for a vote and demographics suggest it could take a generation before Catholics, who tend to back Irish nationalist parties, become a majority among Northern Ireland's population.

Northern Ireland's future is part of broader uncertainty for territories of what was once the world's biggest empire.

Britain's right-wing press fulminated last month against EU plans to spell out that Spain, which claims sovereignty over Gibraltar, should have a veto over applying any future EU-UK free trade deal to the tiny British enclave.

Last week, Argentina said it thought it might gain EU backing after Brexit for its claim to the Falkland Islands, 35 years after losing a brief war there to Britain.

Closer to home, Brexit has fuelled calls to break away not only in Northern Ireland but also in Scotland.</s>Heads of state from 27 European Union countries — all except British Prime Minister Theresa May — put on a display of unity Saturday ahead of negotiations over Britain’s divorce from the bloc, colloquially known as “Brexit.”

Gathered in a meeting room at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, the leaders agreed on their priorities within one minute, a spokesman for the EU institution said.

Discussions regarding Britain’s withdrawal from the EU are set to start after the U.K. parliamentary election in June and last until March 2019.

The remaining 27 countries were eager to show there are no cracks in their negotiating position and meant to make one thing clear to London: The bloc will not split off into opposing groups that disagree over how to treat its departing member.

The leaders rubber-stamped a list of demands, including protecting the 3 million EU citizens living in Britain, a guarantee to keep peace in Northern Ireland and a budget settlement from Britain estimated to be more than $60 billion.

“It is with unity that Europe will preserve its interests,” French President Francois Hollande told reporters after the summit.

“There was some concern that the U.K. will try to approach the negotiations with divide-and-rule tactics,” said Agata Gostyńska, a senior fellow at the Center for European Reform, a London-based think tank. “The EU has something big at stake. It’s the EU’s fate. This is one of Germany’s priorities, to keep the EU united.”

Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Britain will feel the difference once it leaves the union because it no longer can have the same advantages.

Gostyńska said leaders are afraid that conceding too much to the U.K. in Brexit negotiations could set a dangerous example.

“This could open a window of opportunity for some of the other member states to say, ‘Look, if the U.K. can still have this good deal and enjoy a very favorable access to the single market, then why shouldn’t we go down the same path?’ ” she said.

But despite the EU’s strong positioning, Merkel emphasized at the summit that the union is “not allied against the United Kingdom” — a veiled response to May’s warning from the campaign trail this week that EU countries are ready to “line up to oppose us.”

Officials at the EU institutions in Brussels were quick to flaunt their resolve, which they said was a sharp contrast to the British government.

“It took the U.K. nine months to prepare the notification letter after Article 50,” a senior EU official said before the summit, referencing May’s letter to officially start the Brexit process in March. “Twenty-seven heads of state and government will have their position on Brexit adopted only one month later.”

U.K. citizens voted to leave the 28-country European Union in a June 2016 referendum, propelling shocked leaders into preparations to remove the country from the bloc, which it joined in 1973.

The document outlining the EU’s position for negotiations says that the talks can move into a second phase only once the U.K. shows “sufficient progress” on the 27 leader’s first three priorities. May originally wanted the talks to simultaneously decide on criteria for Britain’s exit as well as a future trade agreement — but the EU shut down her request.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny secured a victory Saturday by inserting a statement into the summit minutes guaranteeing that if Northern Ireland unites with the Republic of Ireland, the country would automatically be an EU member. Northern Ireland, a part of the U.K., voted to remain in the EU last year with a majority of 56%. But polls show that most people still would reject a bid to unite with the Republic of Ireland.

Kenny called the reference to a united Ireland a “significant legal statement from the European Council for something that may happen.”

But he warned that the talks are unlikely to remain as quick as they were on Saturday.

“We won't always be as calm and measured as today, I foresee,” he said.

Unity between EU countries is fragile, and Brexit negotiations, as they drag on and become more complex, still could drive leaders of the 27 member states apart.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said he is concerned the countries will face tough decisions over a shared budget once Britain leaves. The U.K. is one of the top contributors to the EU budget; its exit will leave a hole of around 18 billion euros per year, according to 2015 figures. Other member states will need to pay more to make up for the loss.

“Clearly there are those who don’t want to pay a penny more and those who don’t want to give up a penny either,” Juncker said after the summit.

EU leaders face another threat to their unity next week when French voters elect a new president. Marine Le Pen, who will face off against Emmanuel Macron, has promised to take France out of the EU.

“The consequences would be serious if France turned away from the EU,” Hollande warned in his final EU news conference Saturday. “The choice of the French people is a choice for France, but also for the EU.”</s>European leaders have endorsed a joint negotiating position on Brexit, including the controversial Spanish veto over the application of any future U.K./EU trade deal to Gibraltar.

 The 27 remaining members states formally agreed their talks strategy at a special European Council meeting in Brussels.

 Council president Donald Tusk tweeted the outcome of their discussions, saying: “Guidelines adopted unanimously. EU 27 firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit talks is ready.”

 Speaking after the EU summit, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said it was “plainly obvious” that the EU would include Spain’s Gibraltar veto in its negotiating guidelines.

 Reacting to the news, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said the EU had included the Gibraltar clause “at the express insistence” of Spain’s Partido Popular government, a move that would come as no surprise to the people of Gibraltar.

 “The treatment proposed for Gibraltar by clause 24 of the guidelines is discriminatory and unfair,” Mr Picardo said. 

 “It flies in the face of the principle of sincere cooperation which the EU is committed to and which it repeats elsewhere in the guidelines.”



 Mr Picardo added: “The people of Gibraltar are clear and united in not accepting any attempts by the Spanish Government to advance it’s stale sovereignty claim.”

 “That will not stop us from continuing to seek dialogue with our neighbour, but never on matters which impinge on sovereignty, jurisdiction or control.”

 “Gibraltar is leaving the European Union with the United Kingdom.”

 “Our future beyond the EU will be a prosperous and international one in respect of which the Spanish Government will have no say or veto.”

 The latest developments also drew criticism from Daniel Feetham, the leader of the GSD Opposition, who said on Twitter that the EU had put political expediency over people.



 The reactions came as the UK Government confirmed it would file a diplomatic protest following an incursion by the Spanish corvette Cazadora into British Gibraltar territorial waters this morning.

 The vessel was shadowed by Royal Navy patrol boats and escorted out of British waters.

 

 PHASED

 With much of the ground work having been done ahead of the summit, leaders took less than an hour to endorse the joint approach.

 The guidelines remained essentially unchanged from the draft proposals published by Mr Tusk last month.

 Central to that is the “phased” approach, with EU leaders insisting the shape of a future trading relationship can only be considered when progress is made on the terms of the UK’s departure.

 Mr Tusk said it was vital for the 27 to remain united.

 “It is only then that we will be able to conclude the negotiations which means that our unity is also in the UK’s interest,” he said.

 “As for now I feel strong support from all the EU institutions, including the European Parliament, as well as all the 27 member states.”

 “I know this is something unique, but I am confident that it will not change.”

 Earlier in the week, German chancellor Angela Merkel said it appeared the UK was under the “illusion” that it could retain EU benefits once it departed the bloc.



 Asked if he agreed with Mrs Merkel’s analysis, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels: “That’s my impression, yes.”

 Mr Tusk has insisted “sufficient progress” must be made on disentangling the UK from its ties and obligations to the EU before discussions can turn to the post-Brexit relations.

 DIVORCE BILL

 Key issues in the first phase are the size of the disputed “divorce bill” the UK will need to stump up on departure – estimated by EU officials at around £50 billion – and addressing uncertainty over the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and British expats residing on the continent.

 Mr Tusk has also signalled a desire to resolve the thorny problem of the Irish border – and how to avoid customs and immigrant checkpoints on the politically sensitive frontier – before moving negotiations to the second stage.

 Entering the summit meeting, Irish premier Enda Kenny said his fellow EU leaders were aware of the “difficulties” Ireland faced due to Brexit.

 “You are aware that Ireland has prepared assiduously and very well for this over the last 18 months and our priorities are reflected in the document from the European Parliament and from the European Council,” he said.

 Arriving at the landmark Europa building for the summit, Mr Tusk had said: “We all want a close and strong future relationship with the UK – there is absolutely no question about that.”

 “But before discussing our future we have to sort out our past, and we will handle it with genuine care, but fairly.”

 “This I think is the only possible way to move forward.”

 “We also need solid guarantees for all citizens and their families who will be affected by Brexit on both sides.”

 “This must be the number one priority for the EU and the UK.”

 “And the Commission has already prepared a precise and detailed list of citizens’ rights we want to protect.”

 GUIDELINES

 A comparison between the draft EU negotiating guidelines and the final framework adopted at the European Council summit show only a small number of amendments.

 One of the more controversial elements of Mr Tusk’s draft guidelines in March was a suggested veto for Spain on any future UK/EU agreements that involved Gibraltar.

 There has been no change to the wording of that paragraph.

 In terms of identifying the key issues in phase one of the talks, the guidelines now list securing protections for EU citizens ahead of disentangling the UK from its obligations (i.e. settling the exit bill). In the draft paper it was the other way round.

 That may not prove significant, although in his pre-summit comments European Council president Donald Tusk said resolving uncertainty around citizens’ rights was the EU and UK’s “number one priority”.

 In regard to the financial settlement, the final guidelines provide more detail on the “obligations and liabilities” the UK will be asked to cover.

 It lists issues resulting from the MFF (the EU’s long term spending plan) as well as “those related to the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Development Fund (EDF) and the European Central Bank (ECB)”.

 The paragraph listing the other areas of potential future co-operation, aside from trade, has added “foreign policy” to security, defence and the fight against terrorism and international crime.

 A paragraph has also been inserted stressing that any future UK-EU relationship should “safeguard financial stability in the Union and respect its regulatory and supervisory regime and standards and their application”.

 In recent weeks debate has flared around whether a free trade deal would include the financial services industry and, if it did, whether City of London institutions would still be bound by Brussels oversight.

 The paragraph on the Irish border has made clear the EU’s support of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement relates to “all its parts”.

 Some structures agreed in what is an international accord between the UK and Republic of Ireland were based on EU law and the UK will now face pressure to ensure post-Brexit laws in Northern Ireland do not undermine the terms of the peace deal.</s>BRUSSELS >> European Union Council President Donald Tusk says that EU leaders have endorsed the guidelines that will govern the way they conduct negotiations with Britain on its departure from the bloc.

Tusk said in a tweet Saturday: “guidelines adopted unanimously. EU 27 firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit talks is ready.”

It came as leaders of 27 EU nations met in Brussels without British Prime Minister Theresa May. The negotiations are likely to begin after Britain holds snap elections on June 8. The 27 EU also acknowledged Saturday that Northern Ireland could join the bloc in the future if its people vote to unite with Ireland, an EU member state.

The two share the island, and the difficulties of re-establishing a land border once Britain leaves are immense and politically fraught.

Ireland’s Europe Minister Dara Murphy told The Associated Press that a statement on the Northern Ireland issue was added to the minutes of the summit, which is being held without British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Future relations between Ireland and Britain, including how the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland would work with the U.K. outside the bloc, have emerged as a key problem to be addressed during the Brexit talks.
European Union leaders approve negotiating guidelines that seek to secure "sufficient progress" on the rights of European Union expatriates living in the United Kingdom, on the financial terms of the separation and on a "soft border" between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, before committing to talk about a new free trade deal.