European Newspapers Aren’t Too Bothered About Brexit

(Bloomberg) --

After more than seven hours of negotiations, the European Union finally had its decision: two extra weeks to prevent an imminent Brexit cliff-edge and for either Theresa May or Parliament to find a way to stop the U.K. crashing out without a deal.

When the moment finally came, the British press went into overdrive. Just about all of the major newspapers gave prominent front-page space to Brexit: Daily Mail, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph... The list goes on.

In Europe, the reaction was quite different. Few newspapers highlight the political turmoil, with most leading on internal matters: yellow-vest protests in France, China-Italy relations, even sports. Cyclone Idai also makes the headlines. Many exclude any Brexit reference from the front page.

Of course, it’s possible the coverage reflects the late hour EU leaders finally reached an agreement. But it’s hard not to escape the sense that Brexit is a very British crisis.

--With assistance from Stephen Foxwell and Wout Vergauwen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tiago Ramos Alfaro in London at talfaro1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sunil Kesur at skesur@bloomberg.net, ;Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Mark Williams

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.