BREXIT will become more "exciting" than before with a change of British prime minister, European Council president Donald Tusk has claimed.
Tusk said the remaining 27 member states of the European Union were looking forward to welcoming the next UK premier, but he reiterated his warning that the Withdrawal Agreement could not be renegotiated.
In a press conference at the end of a two-day European Council summit in Brussels, Tusk told reporters: "We are waiting for the new British prime minister and we have to be very precise and also patient.
"It's waiting for the decisions or maybe new proposals, but our position remains as I informed just five minutes ago.
"Maybe the process of Brexit will be even more exciting than before because of some personnel decisions in London, but nothing has changed when it comes to our position."
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker added: "We repeated unanimously that there will be no renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement."
The frontrunner in the race to replace Theresa May, Boris Johnson, has claimed it is "perfectly realistic" to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement to allow Britain to leave the European Union in October – a deadline he thinks is "eminently feasible".
His rival Jeremy Hunt believes there is a deal to be done with Brussels if the right team is sent to negotiate it.
He has said he would be prepared to delay Brexit if an agreement was in reach, but would walk away if there was no prospect of reaching a deal by October 31.
May left the summit on Friday morning following a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the EU 27 held short Brexit talks after her departure.
The leaders had hoped to allocate the EU's top jobs at the summit but they failed to find a majority for any candidate.
Instead, they will meet for a special summit on June 30.
The main political groupings in the Parliament have nominated candidates, including German MEP Manfred Weber, for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), and former Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans, for the Party of European Socialists (PES).
The liberal group has put forward a "Spitzen Team" made up of figures including European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt and Danish EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron is thought to favour appointing the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, to the role of European Commission president, limiting Germany's power in the bloc which would grow if Weber became commission president.
The leaders talked about the appointments until 1.45am local time (12.45am BST) on Friday, before adjourning until the end of the month.
On Thursday evening, they ate a distinctly British supper: dining on a starter of green asparagus with smoked salmon, followed by a main course of roast beef with rocket and potato cake, and for pudding they had strawberries with lime.
May – who had expected the summit to be her last as prime minister – said as she arrived that she would play a "constructive role" in the discussions.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel