British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves the EU headquarters after the first day of the two-day EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 20, 2017. The EU summit kicked off in Brussels on Thursday, discussing issues related to migration, digital single market, defense and Brexit. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

by Tian Dongdong

BRUSSELS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Despite lacking sufficient progress in the lengthy and loose Bexit negotiation, the European Council on Friday gave green light to the internal preparatory discussions for the second phase talks. If the Council agrees at its next session in December that sufficient progress has been achieved, the second phase would be in touching distance.

The decision was the only silver lining of the discussion over Brexit among European Union (EU) leaders during a two-day summit, which failed again to meet the high expectation of citizens living in a fear of "no deal nightmare" along the English Channel.

Britain has long been calling for an early start of the second phase talks, which would focus on the possible transitional arrangements and a framework for the future relationship between London and Brussels.

PREPARATION FOR 2ND PHASE COULD GO AHEAD

At its next session in December, the European Council will determine whether sufficient progress has been achieved in the talks and if so, it will adopt additional guidelines in relation to the framework for the future relationship and on possible transitional arrangements.

And Against this background, the European Council invites the Council (Art. 50) together with the Union negotiator to start internal preparatory discussions, said a conclusion document on Brexit issued by the EU27 following the two-day summit.

In the document, the European Council welcomed the progress made regarding citizens' rights and invites the negotiator to build on the convergence achieved to provide the necessary legal certainty and guarantees to all concerned citizens and their family members.

Those citizens and their family members shall be able to exercise directly their rights derived from EU law and protected by the withdrawal agreement, including through smooth and simple administrative procedures and the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union, said the document.

As regards Ireland, the Council acknowledged that there has been some progress on convergence on principles and objectives regarding protection of the Good Friday Agreement and maintenance of the Common Travel Area.

It invites the Union negotiator to pursue further refinement of these principles, taking into account the major challenge that Britain's withdrawal represents, including as regards avoidance of a hard border, and therefore expecting Britain to present and commit to flexible and imaginative solutions called for by the unique situation of Ireland, said the document.

The document noted that while Britain has stated that it will honor its financial obligations taken during its membership, this has not yet been translated into a firm and concrete commitment from Britain to settle all of these obligations.

MAY EXERTS ROUNDS OF CHARM OFFENSE

Prior to the issue of the document, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters that he doesn't want a no deal scenario and wants to reach a good deal with Britain.

He made the remarks during a press conference co-chaired with President of the European Council Donald Tusk after a close-door EU27 roundtable meeting on Brexit without Britain.

While the close-door meeting carrying on, British Prime Minister Theresa May continued her charm offense by reassuring her European colleagues in a press conference that Britain will go through the financial commitments to EU line by line, without giving a specific figure of the "devoice bill".

"I gave a firm commitment (in Florence speech) on the financial settlement and I proposed a time-limited implementation period based on current terms, which is in the interest of both the UK and the EU. Both sides agree that subsequent rounds have been conducted in a new spirit. My fellow leaders have been discussing that this morning and I believe that it is in the interests of the UK that the EU 27 continues to take a united approach," she told reporters.

She said"whatever happens -- we want them (EU citizens) and their families to stay (in Britain)," marking a fresh effort in another front of her charm offensive.

In fact, citizen's rights issue has recently become an important front in May's campaign to gain understanding in Brussels. Ahead of the two-day summit, she wrote directly to EU citizens in Britain, vowing to "put people first".

"I have been clear throughout this process that citizens' rights are my first priority...We are in touching distance of agreement (on this issue)," said May in the letter, reassuring them that Britain is "developing a streamlined digital process for those applying for settled status in the UK in the future."

"We hugely value the contributions that EU nationals make to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the UK ...I hope that these reassurances, alongside those made by both the UK and the European Commission last week, will provide further helpful certainty to the four million people who were understandably anxious about what Brexit would mean for their futures," she concluded.

Besides wooing citizens, May also launched "dinner diplomacy" in a whirlwind visit to Brussels. During the trip, she had dinner with Juncker and they "had a broad, constructive exchange on current European and global challenges."

The dinner has been planned "for a little while," according to a Downing Street aide, and is the latest in a string of bilateral talks over recent days between May and EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Tusk and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

These charm offensives marked a somewhat "U-turn" of May's Bexit strategy, as the British prime minister warned Britain to prepare for a no-deal Brexit around two weeks ago.

Addressing MPs in the House of Commons on Oct. 9, May said achieving a special partnership after Brexit will require leadership and flexibility, not just from Britain, but from the 27 nations of the EU.

"As we look forward to the next stage, the ball is in their court," said May.

The long-awaited Brexit talks was launched on June 19, nearly one year after Britain voted to leave the bloc by a narrow margin on June 23, 2016.

May sent a notification letter to the EU in late March, triggering a two-year countdown to Britain's withdrawal from the bloc after more than 44 years of membership.