The long goodbye

This week, British MPs will vote on Theresa May’s draft withdrawal treaty - but in Britain, Ireland and Brussels, the mood is grim as the possibility of a no-deal Brexit looms ever larger

When Professor Federico Fabbrini set up a Brexit institute in Dublin City University a year and a half ago, he always expected that the departure of Britain from the EU would be painful.

As a professor of EU law, he knew it was not going to be as simple to take back control as some of the hard Brexiteers made out during the 2016 referendum.

“I thought this would be a painful and ...