European Union officials do not know what to make of Britain's inconclusive election result, which throws the future of prime minister Theresa May in doubt and may delay - if not more seriously derail - talks on Brexit.
European Union leaders question how any British government could persuade voters to accept such an outcome and so would be wary of starting down the path of negotiating it for fear of ending up without a deal that both sides could ratify in 2019.
Almost a year after the Britain's watershed referendum, when voters opted to leave the 27-state bloc, the long-awaited Brexit talks are still technically slated to begin June 19.
Steven Blockmans of the Center for European Policy Studies said that because of the current chaos, "it is questionable whether that period of time will be sufficient in order to strike a good deal".
"I am not sure that we should read the results of this vote as questioning in any way the position expressed sovereignly by the British on Brexit", said French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, speaking on French radio.
So we're looking forward to seeing whoever May picks to send to Brussels on her behalf to get the "best" deal available on Brexit. The short of a majority in parliament made talks imbalanced and uncertain.
"But all is less clear - the political situation in Britain in general, the new minority government and its leadership". The election led to a hung parliament after her party won only 318 seats, down from 330 they got in 2015. But going on the reactions to this British election campaign in major European newspapers, at least Europeans are no longer in denial or delusional about Britain's denial and delusion.
General election 2017: DUP deal 'risks peace process'
It also said Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is pushing her to prioritize jobs and the economy in the Brexit talks. The DUP statement put Downing Street on the back foot, prompting a carefully worded response in the early hours of Sunday.
But EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Britain's May was now likely to be a "weak" partner.
The Brexit negotiations are slated to begin on June 19. "UK wanted it, but is still not ready to negotiate".
European Parliament Brexit negotiator and Belgian ex-premier Guy Verhofstadt warned the election result would make talks more hard. "Before we ask questions about extending negotiations with our British friends, it's necessary that they start".
He said he hoped the new Government was one "with which we can conduct serious negotiations and if possible keep Great Britain as close as possible to the European Union".
"In the long-term I believe this election could be a positive as we take a more realistic approach to Brexit negotiations".
That's a problem for European officials who had seemed to come to grips with the notion of Brexit and were ready to deal with an empowered May. May opted for a snap election to boost her parliamentary majority and strengthen her hand in the -Brexit talks due to begin in just 10 days.
Adding more time to the two-year schedule would require unanimity amongst the EU-27, which would be legally complicated. The UK public is, it seems, determined to answer any question with a noisy: 'No!' And this makes life hard not only for Theresa May, but for any potential successors within the Tory party - for they would surely need to hold an election to secure a decent majority.
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