Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

ANALYSIS: Hard road ahead in Brexit journey

European Council president, Donald Tusk, said he could not describe it as a happy day.
European Council president, Donald Tusk, said he could not describe it as a happy day.

Conciliatory – that was the word that sprung to mind as Theresa May negotiated her way through the Article 50 show yesterday.

The prime minister was at pains to avoid triumphalism and reminded us all – and no doubt those watching from across the Channel – that the UK is not leaving Europe.

Both her official letter and Commons statement were full of references to the “deep and special partnership” she hopes to secure, pledges to work “in a spirit of sincere cooperation” and insistences the UK will remain the EU’s “close friend and ally”.

Britain will do all it can to help the EU “prosper and succeed”, she subsequently declared.

And so on…

But, amid the niceties, there was also one key – and brutal – stick.

Namely, that failure to reach an agreement would mean “our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened”.

Number 10 was quick to say this was simply a “statement of fact” – but it was also a reminder of the UK’s highly regarded intelligence agencies and military power.

In other words: you need us, so give us what we want.

How successful Mrs May will be in securing her objectives remains very uncertain.

She insisted again yesterday on a twin-track approach – agreeing the terms of a future partnership alongside those of the UK’s withdrawal.

But a draft resolution of the European Parliament, expected to be debated next month, states a new trade deal can only be struck once the UK has left the EU.

Full of fighting talk, it also stresses any transitional agreement should last no more than three years after 2019 and calls for the process to be arranged “in an orderly fashion, so as not to negatively affect the EU”.

Additionally, it warns a state leaving cannot “enjoy similar benefits as an EU member state”, making clear the parliament would not consent to “any agreement that would contradict this”.

Moreover, Mrs May immediately faced resistance from German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on the plan to conduct divorce and future trade negotiations simultaneously.

So it looks like the prime minister will have her work cut out.

On top of that, she will most likely have to contend with a frosty reception around the negotiating table.

In recent weeks, European leaders have toned down their language of revenge.

But yesterday, Mrs May’s enthusiasm could not have stood in starker contrast to Donald Tusk’s sad and sombre response.

While she is choosing to characterise Brexit as an opportunity, he is simply focused on “damage control”.