Should it decide to forget about Brexit and stay in the EU after all, the UK might be disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm among the Union’s other member states.

After two years of negotiations they considered a major nuisance, with a spectator seat to the UK’s domestic political meltdown, a rising number of European policy makers wonder whether a radical change of mind in London wouldn’t simply prolong the British “identity crisis” about EU membership, bringing more pain than gain to the rest of the Union.