WHAT strikes me, comparing the EU and UK approaches to Brexit, is the complete lack of panic on the EU side. It is no longer the talk of the steamie.

Brexit is a thing of regret, but it is a managed process, done in full transparency with everyone involved at the appropriate time.

So from Brussels it has long been obvious that there would be a deal, knowing full well it is a bad deal for the UK and weakens the EU too, but that was the UK's free choice.

The realisation seems to finally be dawning in UK politics that you cannot have the benefits of membership of a club without being a member of the club, and that the members of a club look after each other before they look after outsiders.

A lack of respect or concern for these basic facts led Mrs May, in trying to keep her warring factions happy, to tie her own hands.

From the EU side, every better option than this sorry little package was available and to an extent still is. But it was Mrs May that ruled out freedom of movement, so that meant outside the single market, and so on.

In Strasbourg this week I've done a tonne of media and had meetings with fellow MEPs to re-emphasise Scotland's view on Brexit. Across the board the response of our European friends is "what the hell is the UK *doing*?"

They respect the process that has led us to the result, but they do not understand why the UK has behaved as it has since. In attempting to square an impossible circle Mrs May has produced the worst of all worlds to both Remain and Leave voters.

Several have privately expressed sympathy for Scotland's plight, and had a specific status for Scotland been proposed by the UK it would have been examined honestly.

But it wasn't, and as long as we remain a part of the UK they can't solve our problems for us. And, frankly, I'm not encouraging anyone to get involved in our domestic debate, yet.

For the moment, we are part of a member state and for the moment the UK can call on the solidarity of members. Not for much longer.

Remember, this "deal" is only the exit, if it happens. This was meant to be the easy bit.

Whatever happens in the coming months, unless we vote down Mrs May's lamentable fudge now we'll all be doing Brexit for years.

Alyn Smith is an SNP MEP