"EUROPE’S leaders are being unusually tightlipped about Theresa May’s Brexit White Paper amid growing fears that failure to accept the Prime Minister’s plans will lead to a chaotic ""no-deal"" departure next March.
European Union sources claim member states have decided not to heap criticism on Mrs May’s proposals because they do not want to add to the pressure she is already under from warring factions in her Conservative Party.
One insider said there was still a lot of goodwill towards Mrs May in Brussels and while there were many serious doubts about the viability of her White Paper, it was being welcomed as a starting point for fresh talks.
Brussels bosses are also aware that the likelihood of a hard Brexit would be higher if Britain underwent a change of leadership so are keen to be as supportive as possible of Mrs May’s Chequers Compromise.
A German source said: ""It doesn't make any sense, but make positive noises about it.”
Veteran German Europhile Elmar Brok, a prominent member of the European Parliament’s Brexit Committee, appeared to follow that line when he acknowledged the White Paper “could be he basis for future relationships”.
But he broke ranks to single out Downing Street’s proposals on a customs arrangement, questioning whether Mrs May’s plan to avoid controls at the Irish border would work, and calling for a full customs union agreement like Britain currently has.
Mr Brok, a key ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: ""The proposal will be difficult where they talk about a type of customs agreement. This means that they will soon collect and pass on our customs duties at their external borders.
""By doing so they want to avoid having controls between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
""We do not know yet if that will work. There are considerable doubts as to whether this is sufficient and whether it is practicable at all, and that has to be discussed in detail.
""A real customs union would certainly be helpful.""
German Foreign Office Minister Michael Roth said the EU had many questions about the British proposals but believed Mrs May wanted to compromise.
Mr Roth said it was still unclear if a no-deal Brexit could be avoided but added: ""Everyone has to be aware that the EU is in a worse position after the UK leaves and that also applies to the UK itself.
“Now it must be a matter of keeping the disadvantages as low as possible.
“For us, the cohesion of the EU27 is crucial. For us the integrity of the single market is crucial and for us it is crucial that we want to work as closely as possible with the United Kingdom.""
And Mrs Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert summed up the government’s line after a crunch cabinet meeting on Brexit last week when he said: “It’s clear that very intensive work lies ahead of us until October. This is an ambitious timeframe.”
Regarding France, meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron will be targeted by Britain as a key way to get an EU deal with Chancellor Philip Hammond travelling to Paris to meet his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire next week.

But Mr Macron and his team have also remained tight-lipped on Mrs May’s White Paper for fear of also putting Mrs May ’s leadership in danger."