EU leaders voice misgivings after UK parliament vote

European leaders voiced misgivings on Thursday about the state of Brexit negotiations after UK lawmakers voted to give themselves a say on the final deal in 2019.

The agreement between the European Union (EU) and UK about its withdrawal from the bloc, due in 2019, is "a binding document", European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said at an EU summit on Thursday.

The agreement, announced on December 8, covered the areas of citizens' rights, the financial settlement for what the UK will have to pay to meet its obligations when it was an EU member and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

There must be "sufficient progress" on these three issues that are key to the EU before talks can move forward.

The Parliament said on Wednesday there had been, and the European Council – meeting on Thursday and Friday in Brussels – will likely agree, opening the way to talks on trade and the future EU/UK relationship.

"There can be no discussions on future relations if the exit agreement is not applied to the letter," Tajani said in his speech at the Council meeting, a copy of which was given to journalists.

"The fact sufficient progress has been made does not mean we have resolved all the problems."

As for the future relationship, "there are red lines that are non-negotiable", Tajani said.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's minority government, propped up by the votes of 10 lawmakers from the Democratic Unionist Party, was defeated in the House of Commons on Wednesday when MPs changed planned legislation to give themselves a vote on the exit terms in 2019.

Heading into the Council meeting in Brussels, May told reporters her country was "on course to deliver Brexit".

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told reporters the vote in the House of Commons "was not making [May's] life easier".

"If every time we now agree on something there is the risk that it will unravel in London, it's not very good to advance concretely," he said.

He said May was a "strong and stable partner" and that some people in the UK "want to make her weaker".

The Council will on Friday decide whether to take Brexit negotiations on to discuss a possible UK transition period after 2019 and the framework for the future relationship.

Also attending the meeting, Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance, noted that, after Brexit, 80% of NATO's expenditure would come from non-EU nations.

"Brexit will change the UK's relationship to the EU but not NATO," Staltonberg told reporters. "The UK has said it will stay a committed ally."

The European Council defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU.

It is made up of the heads of state or government of EU countries, the Commission president and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.