Am I reading it wrong . . ?

It has always struck me as strange, the way the Brexit scenario, as generally portrayed in the media, seems to ignore the fact that Brexit is as big a challenge to the EU as it is to Britain.  It is not a matter of—like Oliver Twist—Britain heading to Europe with its begging bowl and asking for more.  It is instead a negotiation or a confrontation or what have you between two more or less equal sides, certainly in terms of the dangers facing both of them.

The reason why the EU is acting as though from a position of strength is that it is confident that the Remainer movement in Britain can stymie Brexit.  Should this confidence turn out to be misplaced, then we can anticipate a last-minute panic, with all sorts of redlines and baggage and promises being thrown overboard in order to keep the ship afloat.