Merkel says May's Brexit proposals "not the breakthrough"

"My first impression is that the UK's offer is below our expectations, and that it risks worsening the situation of citizens", Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said, in an early sign of the hard and protracted negotiations to come.

On Thursday, the president of the European Parliament said Europe needs to be pragmatic in dealing with Britain following the country's decision to leave the bloc, but urged cooperation in future dealings.

The President of the European Council has said Theresa May's proposals for the post-Brexit status of EU citizens living in Britain are "below expectations".

May's comments were the first guarantee made by the United Kingdom government about residency rights since the British electorate voted by a narrow majority in June 2016 to leave the EU.

However, no cut-off date for the package has been specified by Downing Street and further details of the plans will not be released until Monday, June 26.

It all adds up to a bad start to the Brexit negotiations for Mrs May.

"We don't want to buy a pig in a poke", Michel said, using an old expression for wanting to inspect something closely before buying it. "We agreed that the Commission will analyze investments from third countries in strategic sectors", he said.

The issue of citizens' rights is one of three priorities in the Brexit talks which began on Monday, along with Britain's estimated 100 billion euro divorce bill, and the fraught question of Northern Ireland, which will be on Britain's only land border with the European Union after Brexit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday the proposals were "good start but not yet the breakthrough".

A two-day long Brussels summit of the European Council ended Friday with leaders agreeing on various issues including security, migration, Brexit, climate change and economy, Anadolu Agency reports.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar welcomed the "positive" proposals, but said an evaluation would have to await more detail.

"There's nothing special in her offer", Spanish nurse Joan Pons, one of 60,000 Europeans working for the National Health Service (NHS) in England alone, said.

The European Commission will then be responsible for evaluating the tenders by 30 September in the light of a list of objective criteria defined in advance.

"I said it will be turbulent, there will be difficulties, but at the end of the operation there is a point of common interest in both sides, where we gain by being able to exploit global markets, where they gain by having a friendly and comfortable ally, not an irritating member of the club".

Macron's office says he sought a separate meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland's Beata Szydlo, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.

But political parties back home have slammed the offer as "too little too late", a year on from Britain's vote to leave.

Theresa May's hopes for an early deal on the rights of expat citizens after Brexit suffered a setback when European Union leaders gave a frosty reception to proposals which she unveiled at a Brussels summit.

May told reporters Friday that "no one will have to leave".

Away from the wretched Brexit saga, the summit offered a more cheery display.