EU leaders say they want to help Theresa May pass Brexit deal but refuse to make serious concessions

EU leaders are watching on in horror at the Tory “catfight” unfolding in Westminster – but will still not make the concessions Theresa May needs to unite the Conservatives when she arrives in Brussels on Thursday.

The prime minister will have a rare two-way discussion with her EU counterparts at the European Council summit on Thursday afternoon, fresh off the plane from surviving a bruising confidence vote in Westminster.

But despite a generally positive tone in Brussels, with officials and diplomats alike suggesting they want to help the prime minister, serious changes to the agreement that would actually win around her MPs will remain effectively off the table.

The prime minister is hoping national leaders will give her breathing space and something to take back to the UK that will ease the ire in Westminster – with a late night meeting to draw up “reassurances” planned.

But EU officials sought to manage expectations ahead of the meeting, with one warning: “What is impossible is to renegotiate the deal from the 25 November. That’s impossible. The rest can be discussed.”

They added: “Renegotiation of the deal that was reached is not on the table and whatever assurances are given cannot contradict the deal that was made on 25 November.”

Brussels essentially gave its backing to the prime minister ahead of the no confidence vote, with a spokesperson for the European Commission stating that Ms May had done a good job of “managing a very difficult process”.

But Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s outspoken Brexit coordinator, voiced the behind-the-scenes exasperation of many in the EU capital.

“Once again, the fate of EU-UK relations, the prosperity of businesses and citizens’ rights are consumed by an internal Conservative party catfight over Europe,” he said.

“I hope that, whatever happens, at least the vote will make clear that a disastrous no-deal is off the table.”

The leaders of the European parliament’s political groups were the latest force to line up behind the EU’s united line of “no renegotiation” on Wednesday as they warned they would use their veto to block any withdrawal agreement that watered down the controversial “backstop”.

The shape and scope of the “reassurances” EU leaders will cook up still looks uncertain. Ahead of the meeting, EU diplomats said they would be decided on the day and would depend on what Ms May asked them for.

One senior official said there was “a wide range of legal forms to offer assurances or clarification”, and did not rule out the possibility of pseudo-legal “protocols” tacked into the treaty. Such protocols would be lodged at the UN with the withdrawal agreement and would provide legal reference – but not change the agreement.

All EU diplomats who spoke to The Independent were adamant that they could not contradict the agreement.

One said: “We believe that when it comes to the backstop, the text of the withdrawal agreement and the text of the political declaration are clear. It is clear and it will be legally binding. If there is something unclear then we need to listen to the prime minister about what is unclear.”

Unless leaders pull a rabbit out of a hat, signals out of Brussels and other EU capitals so far suggest they will not meet the demands of the Brexiteers – who want the backstop either removed entirely, given a time-limit, or some kind of new exit clause not dependent on EU consent.

Brexit will be far from the only issue discussed at the meeting, which will also begin the heavy-lifting of hashing out the EU’s multi-year budget. The prime minister will share her concerns with leaders in the afternoon, and they will, unusually, be allowed to ask her questions and respond.

The EU has so far tried to keep direct discussion between leaders about Brexit to a minimum – preferring instead that all negotiations go through its adept chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his team.

After a meeting on foreign policy over dinner, which Ms May will attend, the prime minister will leave the 27 leaders to discuss her concerns without her. They are expected to issue a late-night written statement spelling out the steps they are prepared to make to ease the passage of the deal through parliament.

The European parliament’s conference of presidents, which represents the leaders of its political groups, said in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon that “the withdrawal agreement and political declaration are fair and balanced and represent, given EU principles, current UK red lines, and the commitments set out in the Good Friday Agreement, the only deal possible to secure an orderly withdrawal from the European Union”.

The group chiefs also “stressed that renegotiating the backstop was not possible” and that without it “parliament would not give its consent to the withdrawal agreement”.

Speaking at lunchtime, Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission’s chief spokesperson, told reporters: “The Commission will not comment on the internal politics of the United Kingdom and not least the Conservative Party, but President Juncker has on many occasions expressed his support for Prime Minister May and her role in managing a very difficult process.”

UK officials have kept a low profile in Brussels ahead of the summit.