The European Union's new €300m Europa building in the heart of Brussels is impressive.

There are delegation rooms for each country on the upper floors.

Member states have their national flags and an EU flag in their quarters conveniently placed for photo opportunities and TV interviews.

Britain is the only country that has opted to put its national flag in the otherwise bare main corridor.

The solitary Union Jack is a symbol that the UK is different to the other countries.

As round two of the Brexit negotiations got under way this week the distinction between Britain and the remaining 27 EU states has come into sharper focus.

One of the criticisms of the EU by Brexit supporters it that Brussels is run by unelected bureaucrats.

Ironically more than 90 British civil servants did most of the talking on behalf of the UK at the negotiations this week.

David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, made a lightening trip for the start of the talks and returned for the wrap-up meetings and press conference on Thursday.

He had to defend his absence from the mid-week meetings as some observers suggested he did not want to be missing from the political jungle in London.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's premiership looks increasingly shaky and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is said to be doing "manoeuvres" in preparation for a potential leadership battle in the autumn.

Since Mrs May's disastrous election, those in favour of a soft Brexit seem to have strengthening clout in London.

But at the talks this week there was a sense that Mr Davis and the EU's Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier made some modest progress.

At least there is now a structure to the negotiations.

However, Mr Barnier's call for the UK to provide more clarification on many topics indicates Britain is still undecided about crucial parts of its Brexit plans.

High on the "must try harder" list is Ireland.

Mr Barnier said more work needs to be done to protect North-South relations.

It is worth bearing in mind the EU has invested vast sums of money in the North over decades as part of efforts to rebuild communities as part of the Peace Process.

The EU does not want to see that funding and those endeavours undermined by a messy Brexit that damages the North.

Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michael Creed voiced frustration about the confusion regarding what kind of Brexit the UK has in mind.

He said British ministers are incoherent and gave him different answers to key questions.

All of this makes the job of negotiating with Britain even more challenging.

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