Statements from German, French and EU leaders show they have been working on maintaining a united front in anticipation of British attempts to play the other 27 members off against each other and have agreed some broad negotiating lines.
Their firmly articulated, central aim is to nip in the bud British demands for free trade without open immigration - once pithily summed up by Brexit leader and now foreign minister Boris Johnson as "having cake and eating it".
Less audibly, cracks have appeared in the EU refusal to discuss options before May triggers a formal process that will launch Britain out the door in two years, with some diplomats suggesting such talks could mean a less radical split. [...]
British officials and politicians also talk of using economic muscle to secure concessions from other Europeans -- whether poor eastern states which might put British offers of cash to help maintain EU subsidies before the migration rights of their citizens, or German carmakers keen to keep a market.
That, argue EU diplomats and officials, may be to mistake the resolve of European leaders not just to defend their own economic interests but to prevent Britain securing a sweetheart deal that might encourage eurosceptic populism at home.
"Many Brexiters claim that the toughness of the 27 is merely an opening stance, and that, when talks commence, economic self-interest will push them to soften," wrote Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. "But that may be wishful thinking."
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