The 27 leaders of EU nations voted to unanimously endorse the strategy at a special meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
European Union leaders have endorsed a stiff set of divorce terms for Britain at a summit in Brussels, rejoicing in a rare show of unity in adversity.
The 27 EU leaders unanimously agreed on Saturday the guidelines issued in March by European Council President Donald Tusk.
However, the United Kingdom government has said made clear that it want talks on trade relations to run in parallel with the separation negotiations.
Citizens rights, finances and border issues with Ireland will have to be settled in order for Brexit talks to go to the next level. While Prime Minister Theresa May's government says it will meet its commitments to the European Union, it has questioned how a preliminary estimate of 60 billion euros was reached and has also said it will try to win a slice of the EU's assets. The officials asked not to be identified because the summit of 27 leaders still was being prepared. The bill is politically toxic for Britain, but also risks causing divisions among European Union states as they debate how to plug any holes in the bloc's budget.
Britain's right-wing press fulminated last month against EU plans to spell out that Spain, which claims sovereignty over Gibraltar, should have a veto over applying any future EU-UK free trade deal to the tiny British enclave.
"It will take time and we have to discuss a certain number of the elements we have to address in the coming months". Tusk said "before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past".
Brussels is concerned about the British government's state of preparation for enormously complicated negotiations and over the degree of understanding in London of what kind of compromises it will have to make to clinch any kind of deal.
The EU executive chief admitted that it will be hard to retain unity within the EU-27, but "we will do our utmost".
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In contrast, citizens in Britain have been divided because of the momentous changes looming.
Pressed on whether she would commit to paying a divorce bill before Britain leaves the bloc, she said: "The EU has also said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed".
In reaction to the summit outcome, Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said, "For Parliament, "orderly withdrawal" means, above all, finding a quick solution to the problem of EU citizens resident in the United Kingdom and British citizens resident in the EU".
To kick off the negotiations with Britain, Tusk wants to centre on the millions of people living in each other's nations who would be immediately affected.
But we do not want the rest of Europe to be weakened.
European Union leaders gave their political endorsement to what Irish and EU legal experts say is the position in worldwide law of such territorial changes.
Some three million citizens from the 27 nations live in Britain, while up to two million Britons live on the continent - all facing uncertainly on such issues as welfare and employment.
After the talks, Tusk tweeted that a "firm and fair political mandate" for the talks was ready. "What I also believe is that, with the right strong hand in negotiations, we can get a good deal for the United Kingdom".
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