The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has voiced hope of reaching an “entente cordiale” with the UK, but said some in Britain still harbour illusions that Brexit can be painless.

In his first press conference since EU leaders agreed a tough opening stance for the Brexit talks on Saturday, Michael Barnier said he was not asking for a blank cheque from the UK and refused to confirm reports that the divorce bill could be as high as €100bn (£84.5bn). “There is no punishment, there is no Brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts,” he said, insisting he was not hostile to the UK. “Leaving the union does not have a price that has to be paid.”Barnier stressed that Britain was being asked to meet promises made by previous governments. “The union and the United Kingdom have mutual commitments … We decided these programmes together, we benefited from them together,” he said.

He also attempted to calm the waters after scathing reports from Brussels about a dinner with Theresa May that he and the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, attended last week. Barnier said the dinner, which was his first meeting with May, had been very cordial and he hoped to reach a friendly understanding between Britain and the rest of the EU.(guardian)…[+]