Media in the rest of Europe have been scathing about Theresa May’s chances of winning further Brexit concessions from the EU27 after the bloc’s leaders told the prime minister it was down to her to convince rebellious MPs the deal was a good one.

“May wanted ‘legal and political assurances’,” said Germany’s Die Zeit. “She got a five-point declaration on a single sheet of A4 whose contents, if you look closely, are self-evident and nothing new to anyone who knows anything about the withdrawal agreement.”

The paper’s commentator Matthias Krupa said it was hard to know whether to admire May’s perseverance or pity her suffering. “Wherever she goes on the continent, the message is the same,” he said. “We’re not giving you anything. Or rather, we’ve already given you enough.”

She was certainly brave, Krupa said. “But bravery alone does not help. For May and her country, Brexit has become a never-ending nightmare. For the EU, on the other hand, at the end of this wild week it is a great success. British politics is shattered into a myriad parts; the EU is more united than ever.”

The Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad asked: “What does Theresa May really need from EU leaders to get the British parliament behind the Brexit withdrawal agreement? Not assurances on the backstop.

“They can really help May by making it absolutely plain to her opponents in the House of Commons that there really are only two options on the table now: backing the prime minister, or no deal. And that’s precisely what they did.”

NRC Handelsblad front page. Photograph: NRC Handelsblad

In France, Le Monde said EU leaders had done “the bare minimum”, issuing a brief five-point statement but refusing to set a target date to end the Irish backstop or make any legally binding statement about their best efforts to avoid it.

Le Monde. Photograph: Le Monde

“They didn’t budge,” the paper said. “Theresa May was vague about what she actually needed … and the EU27 are manifestly sceptical she can win a majority. They were determined not to give the impression they were ready to renegotiate anything.

“The exasperation is, at any rate, now palpable. After 18 months of talks, Brexit fatigue has set in. Brussels is fed up with British criticism of the backstop, particularly since it was not imposed by EU negotiators but is the result of London’s choices.”

Spain’s El País said May had had another black day at the end of a disastrous week, when her “umpteenth attempt to get EU partners to help her save the Brexit deal from the British parliament” failed.

El País. Photograph: El Pais

“If the problems are in London, the solutions will not be found in Brussels,” the paper said. “The EU fears that any concession will be futile or, worse, mortgage European interests in the future relationship … The gap between the majority of EU leaders and the current British government continues to widen.”

In Poland, Gazeta Wyborcza said May got nowhere at the summit. “European leaders simply do not believe that the British prime minister is in control of the process of ratifying the divorce agreement with the EU – and they do not know how they can help her.”