As UK Prime Minister Theresa May tried to shore up her authority after unexpectedly losing her majority in parliament, her Brexit Secretary David Davis said negotiations may now not start on June 19 as May had previously promised.
Meanwhile, there are new calls for May to retreat from her "hard Brexit" stance, which includes a clean break with the bloc's single market and customs union, and instead seek a softer option. An EU official also declined to provide a likely start date for the Brexit talks, but said the bloc stands ready to begin them.