British Prime Minister Theresa May said Friday she will form a government supported by a small Northern Irish party after her Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in an election debacle days before talks on Britain's EU departure are due to begin. ‍

A stony-faced May, speaking on the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, said the government would provide certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the country as her husband looks on after Britain's election at Downing Street in London, Britain June 9, 2017. /Reuters Photo

EU leaders expressed fears that May's shock loss of her majority would delay the Brexit talks, due to begin on June 19, and so raise the risk of negotiations failing.

The British vote's results would impact "the spirit" of Brexit negotiations, but it would not call into question its timetable, EU Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Friday. 

"We need a government that can act," EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger meanwhile told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's a danger that the (Brexit) negotiations will turn out badly for both sides."

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the result of the vote in her constituency at the count centre for the general election in Maidenhead, June 9, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the bloc's stance on Brexit and the timetable for the talks were clear, but the divorce negotiations should only start when Britain is ready. "Let's put our minds together on striking a deal," he said.

With the complex Brexit talks due to start in 10 days however, Reuters news agency said it was unclear what their direction would now be and if the so-called "Hard Brexit" taking Britain out of the single market could still be pursued.

Still, there was little sympathy from other Europeans.

"Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated," tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian premier who is the European Parliament's point man for the Brexit process.

The latest results of Britain's General Election are seen on a screen in London's Canary Wharf financial center, Britain June 9, 2017. /Reuters Photo

May's predecessor David Cameron sought to silence eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership last year. The result ended his career and shocked Europe.

German conservative Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker involved in discussions on access to EU markets for Britain's financial sector, was scathing.

"The British political system is in total disarray. Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty," he said, mocking May's campaign slogan.

(With inputs from Reuters, Xinhua)