With Prime Minister Theresa May desperately battling to win over support from both Brexiteers and Remainers in her own party, her French counterpart, Edouard Philippe, warned there was a need to prepare for a no-deal because of the "uncertainty" in the political situation in the UK.Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and three other ministers resigned on Thursday, mainly because they were unhappy with arrangements for a 'frictionless' boarder between Northern Ireland and the Republic, while a growing number of pro-leave, Conservative MPs have been calling for Mrs May to face a no-confidence vote.After a cabinet meeting in Potsdam, Mrs Merkel told reporters, "We have a document on the table that Britain and the EU27 have agreed to, so for me there is no question at the moment whether we negotiate further."She added she was happy both sides had finally agreed a deal after “long and really not easy negotiations," but pointed out the EU27 still had to assess the 585-page draft before it could be approved, possibly at a specially arranged summit in Brussels on November 25.

Guy Verhofstadt, EU Brexit Coordinator: 'There is not a lot of room for manoeuvre"

Mrs Merkel's sentiments were echoed in Brussels by EU Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt who said, "There is not a lot of room for manoeuvre to say, ‘OK, let’s start again.'”
A senior EU official added, “On both sides we’ve exhausted our margin of manoeuvre under our respective mandates. As negotiators, we’re happy to stand by the agreement. We think it’s the best we can do collectively.“If someone comes with wishes for changes they have to take their responsibilities and assess what that does to the process.”Katya Adler, BBC Europe editor, commented, "The EU knows there is a very real possibility the Brexit deal could be voted down by the UK parliament in a few weeks' time."Brussels is very keen indeed not to give the impression that the EU might change or come up with a 'better' Brexit deal text if this one ends up being rejected in the House of Commons."

Brexit uncertainty across Europe

However, not all on the continent are happy with the draft withdrawal treaty. "France, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands are all understood to have serious concerns that a customs union has been handed to the UK without sufficient safeguards to ensure British companies cannot undercut European industry. They are likely to make their voices heard at a meeting of EU affairs ministers on Monday," reported the Guardian.Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, said, “This Brexit deal is an important step forward but we’re not there yet. We will now analyse the texts carefully in order to check their compatibility with our European values.” His Finnish counterpart, Juha Sipilä, added that “final decisions are still needed on both sides."

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Related Brexit news:

• Cautious welcome from business to Brexit deal
• Political turmoil follows draft Brexit agreement
• Crown World Mobility asked: how does europe feel about Brexit?

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Meanwhile, Brexit uncertainty continued to make headlines across Europe. Austria's Die Presse described Mrs May's "struggle for survival"; Spain's El Pais said that the resignations in London had "muddied" the Brexit deal; Germany's Neus Deutschland said opposition to the deal had triggered a "British government crisis"; and France's Le Figaro said Mrs May now stood "alone against the world".But Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg columnist and founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti, commented, "If the British parliament throws out the deal that Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has negotiated with the European Union, it will be most regretted in Brussels, because the deal in its existing form essentially insulates Europe from most of the Brexit fallout.

Donald Tusk, European Council president: "It’s always been the position of the EU that Brexit is a lose-lose proposition"

"There’s a reason Donald Tusk, the European Council president, hurried on Thursday to call a meeting of EU leaders for November 25 before there was any clarity on whether the deal will survive attacks from all sides in the UK. As Tusk said, it’s always been the position of the EU that Brexit is a lose-lose proposition and any negotiations can only be about damage control. But the draft agreement isn’t at all bad for Europe."The deal is built to make sure European companies, notably German carmakers, don’t lose an important market and don’t need to revamp their supply chains."

Visit our Brexit pages for all the latest Brexit news.

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