For EU, pragmatism equals vision when dealing with Brexit

The decision-making process of the European Union can be painfully slow, and often leaders need to burn the midnight oil to reach an agreement. But at this Saturday's summit to agree negotiation guidelines for the United Kingdom's exit from the EU, the leaders of the 27 remaining EU member states were uncharacteristically quick.

One month after London formally notified Brussels of its intention to leave the EU, the bloc's leaders took just minutes to finalize their basic principles for the two-year talks on how the UK departs from the EU.

The quicker-than-usual decision demonstrated the unity of the EU leaders as they insisted that the protection of the rights of citizens affected by Brexit, the financial settlement and the status of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, would take priority over all other issues.