LONDON (AP) - European Union leaders on Wednesday punctured U.K. optimism about a smooth and mutually beneficial divorce between Britain and the EU, declaring that, no matter what British Prime Theresa May thinks, Britain can't dictate the terms of the separation.
EU President Donald Tusk warned Britain that it will not be able to "pick and choose" the choicest bits of trade and immigration as both sides wade into the negotiations this spring. He said May's Brexit speech on Tuesday, in which she outlined her plans for moving ahead with the divorce, was proof the EU's united stance was working.
May acknowledged she would not be able to break the EU's sacrosanct link between free movement of people and of goods, saying Britain would leave the bloc's single market in order to regain control over immigration.
Tusk said the concession "proves that the unified position of 27 member states on the indivisibility of the single market was finally understood and accepted by London" even before the negotiations start.
Such statements poured cold water on buoyant British praise for May's vision of flexible and swift negotiations to reach a "bold and ambitious free trade agreement with the EU."
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta, which holds the rotating EU presidency, insisted such a trade deal could only be negotiated after Britain leaves, which is expected in 2019.
EU Affairs Minister Ann Linde said May had made it "very clear that she wants a very hard Brexit" and anticipated difficult negotiations ahead.