The European Council President Donald Tusk has said the EU will not punish the UK, because Brexit is “punishment enough”, as he released a set of draft guidelines defining the bloc’s position on talks for the next two years.

Mr Tusk spoke at a news conference after the guidelines were sent to the heads of the 27 remaining members of the EU – and immediately leaked to several news outlets.

The draft guidelines appeared to offer a concession to Theresa May, suggesting talks on future trade arrangements could begin once “sufficient progress” was made on the initial Brexit divorce deal.

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But speaking to reporters, Mr Tusk said this was not the same thing as the “parallel talks” demanded in Ms May’s letter triggering Article 50.

The EC President insisted Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc must come ahead of any new relationship between the two parties.

Yet he said the EU will not seek to punish the UK in the initial stage of the talks. “We will not be punitive. Brexit itself is punitive enough,” he said.

The head of the rotating EU presidency, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, appeared alongside Mr Tusk at the news conference.

He said the Brexit negotiations will be tough but “it will not be a war,” and warned both sides that citizens in Britain and other EU nations should not be used a “bargaining chips”.

Shape Created with Sketch. How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite Show all 8 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite 1/8 Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nation’s favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters 2/8 Nescafé The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafé Original at Sainsbury’s has gone up 40p from £2.75 to £3.15 – a 14 per cent rise—since the Brexit vote. PA 3/8 Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (£450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury 4/8 Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters 5/8 Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty 6/8 Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterling’s slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons’ customers £2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex 7/8 Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay 8/8 Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the “lighter way to enjoy chocolate”, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto 1/8 Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nation’s favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters 2/8 Nescafé The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafé Original at Sainsbury’s has gone up 40p from £2.75 to £3.15 – a 14 per cent rise—since the Brexit vote. PA 3/8 Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (£450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury 4/8 Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters 5/8 Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty 6/8 Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterling’s slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons’ customers £2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex 7/8 Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay 8/8 Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the “lighter way to enjoy chocolate”, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto

That same phrase was repeated by Mr Tusk at the end of the conference, in the context of security cooperation between the EU and the UK.

Mr Muscat admitted that he and other European leaders had read with concern Ms May’s comments, in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, in which she referred to Britain's “valuable” contribution to security across the continent.

Asked whether the UK would stay a member of Europol after Brexit, the Prime Minister said: “I think security co-operation in a number of crime and justice matters is important for us.

“It’s not just Europol, there are some other things, there are systems about exchanging information about people crossing borders, for example, which I think are valuable: valuable to us, and valuable to the other countries in the EU...

“I would like to be able to maintain the degree of co-operation on these matters that we have currently.”

Mr Tusk said that, particularly after the attack on Westminster nine days ago, it was clear terrorism was a “common” threat to the whole of Europe, and said security was “not a bargaining chip” on the table.

Mr Muscat said he had received assurances from Downing Street that the matter was one of “misinterpretation”. He said the UK were “decent partners”, and his government would take the British government “at its word”.

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