Are Brexit talks collapsing before they have even begun?
The atmosphere surrounding the Brexit process is already turning toxic - but a shared love of hiking might help clear the air.
Wednesday 3 May 2017 17:56, UK
Has an avalanche warning just been issued for Brexit? Is the whole process about to collapse even before the negotiations have begun?
The European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator used his first news conference since the UK formally announced its intention to leave the European Union to warn that the path ahead will be "extraordinary", it will "take time" and .
Michel Barnier was forthright throughout and with a tone that very much gave the impression that he and the European Union, not the UK, will be running the show.
But he ended with a personal reflection on his first meeting, last Wednesday, with Theresa May - that now infamous which either went swimmingly or disastrously depending on who you believe.
He revealed that he and Mrs May share a passion: mountain hiking.
"If you like walking in the mountains, you have to learn a certain number of rules, you have to learn to put one foot in front of the other because sometimes you are on a steep and rocky path," Mr Barnier said.
"You also have to look at what accidents might befall you, falling rocks, you have to be very careful to keep your breath, you have to have stamina because it could be a lengthy path and you have to keep looking at the summit."
It's advice Mrs May needs no reminder of. She and her husband are keen walkers; it was on a ramble through Wales over Easter that she came to the conclusion that a snap general election was needed.
Plenty emerged from Mr Barnier's news conference: on the so-called "exit bill", he wouldn't be drawn on a figure, simply, he said, because it's impossible to work it out. Every day the UK remains in the EU, its financial commitments continue to stack up.
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He said the "methodology" of establishing the figure needs to be agreed upon. That sounds a bit like asking the UK to sign a blank check, I asked him.
Absolutely not, he said: we need to agree that the UK owes money because it's just settling its accounts, its bill, before it leaves.
He suggested that the sooner the UK accepts that fact and accepts that they must agree a method of working out the figure, the better for everyone.
"We will see if we can find common ground. Facts, figures, laws and solutions," he said.
"I won't be guided by emotions and hostility; no window dressing; sufficient process in negotiation so we can get to second stage [the deal on new relationship]," he said.
Walking in the mountains, with all that fresh air, allows for clarity of the mind.
Perhaps Mr and Mrs May should join Monsieur and Madame Barnier for a walk together - Snowdonia or the Alps. It may clear the air in what has already become a horribly toxic environment.