in our brussels studio brought a couple of loaves for the colleagues in particular my colleague max hoffman our head of studio and so at one point in a pub in strasbourg we had this idea and we said we have to make something of the baking skill something more and that's when we decided to make a series where we combined politics and bread making and idea from max hoffman has a dangerous thing anyway what's so important a minute but now let's have a look at our first episode and today it's the turn of luxembourg. today i'll be baking chemist to a raisin bread from luxembourg. this founding member is by far the wealthiest country in the club so get ready for the richest loaf in our series. makes plain flour lukewarm milk a tablespoon of sugar and twenty grams of yeast in a bowl. after fifteen minutes at two x. and some more sugar a good amount of potter and a pinch of salt makes everything well together now we need to talk about needing technique there are different techniques you can use but luxembourg's former prime minister and head of the european commission song has mastered one in parti

on this a story with max hoffman use of brussels of brewer chief hi max so when this downgrade happen. we understand it happened towards the end of last year but it didn't become clear right away because as you mentioned the officials in washington d.c. weren't notified by the u.s. administration so as we understand they noticed by not being invited as much as they were before they lost that status and then that became obvious at the funeral of george bush sr the former president because usually the e.u. embassador to the united states would have been called among the first twenty or thirty embassadors but he was called last and that's when it became clear and that's why when they also got official confirmation that's a very painful low what does it say about how the trumpet ministration were guards the european union first of all i think president trump has made it quite clear that he's not a supporter of the european your union or international organizations multilateral system as a whole he's repeatedly taken swipes at the european union for two things basically he's claimed that t

there is at the german government's committee at foreign affairs in berlin max hoffman is joining us from brussels good morning to you both mahela i'd like to begin with you the british parliament wants a different deal what's the reaction in berlin. while your direct reaction but is that there simply won't be one and there's a sense of frustration also that once again the british parliament didn't make clear what it actively once it once again voted against something which is the brics it which is a no brics that scenario and also the so-called backstop insurance policy and i did get the chance to talk to several committee members amongst them what are the keys of s.f. in the conservative c.d.u. party this is what he had to say. well i think it's the wrong approach from the united kingdom and the reason is on the pressure so i can understand the chief would like to negotiate as far as possible however we have another eight weeks and we should really award it. and we should in the west all our engagement to keep a kind of tariffs and customs union and nothing else there will be no fu

let's go to max hoffman now in strasbourg max is that what we're looking at right now i mean is is that the ball in britain's court still in the eyes of the european union. that's what everybody here says i've talked to members of the european parliament from very different factions and they basically all said that great britain now in these to come up with a proposal or in the words for example of who is the chief negotiator of the european parliament a liberal by the way he said we finally one to know what the brits want what kind of deal they want or another member we did say now we know what the house of commons so the british parliament does not want but what we still don't know is what it actually wants so yes it's all pointing in the same direction from the perspective in stop work the seat of the european parliament the ball is definitely in the court of the united kingdom at the moment. and barbara let me ask you do you get the feeling though that a week from now we're going to be in the very same situation that we are tonight you know at the beginning of the program i'd said i

s max hoffman is standing by in strasbourg max the european parliament has been holding a debate understand on last night's vote what are parliamentarians making of it. well the most important part of that was actually not from the parliamentarian but first because misha the chief negotiator of the u. commission spoke out for the first time after the vote in the house of commons and everybody was eager to hear what he thought might be a path forward but he did the same thing as the parliamentarians pointing the finger towards london and said they need to come up with a plan now with a possible path forward showing himself open to talking to the brits of course that you would never said this is it we'll never going to talk about this anymore we're not going to negotiate any further because they don't want to take the blame in the end but he also said that he very much regretted that vote and that he still thought that the agreement the withdrawal agreement with over six hundred pages was a very good agreement and that's been echoed by many parliamentarians here so they don't think that the a

to say that nobody's really surprised that the trump administration would do something like that max hoffman with the view from brussels thank you max heavy snowfall and avalanches in austria and germany have claimed at least five lives many people are missing some one point five metres of snow has fallen in the northern alps in less than a week thousands of tourists are now stranded in villages and more snow is expected this week train services and roads have been disrupted and authorities have warned that the risk of avalanches remains high. this ski village in austria is all but deserted. roads are closed rescue helicopters grounded residents and tourists were forced to evacuate after it was inundated with snow there's an old in the red if it's really going for the light there was only took this necessary precaution because we couldn't guarantee that there would be adequate food and medical supplies for. rescuers are searching for missing people and more teams are on standby the extreme weather has hampered their efforts residents were also caught off guard. you know where i was alone and

and our correspondents max hoffman and mcculloch of her reporting there or british prime minister to resign may is preparing to go back to brussels to try to renegotiate her breakthrough deal it was resultingly rejected by the u.k. parliament last week on monday she outlined what was supposed to be an alternative plan but critics say she failed to offer any new ideas and despite ruling out the option may is facing mounting pressure from campaigners for a second referendum on bragg's that among them is former british prime minister tony blair at the world economic forum in davos he told the w correspondent been physical and why he believes a new vote is necessary. the idea is to to change the withdrawal agreement obviously that's a matter of negotiation between the british government and europe but look myself and others have been arguing in the u.k. that this process is is a mess and this new agreement as to what the future trading relationship with europe should be one group of people want us to stay close to europe another group one has to break out of the european trading system a

the hoffman who are welcome both let's start with you max hoffman germany and france already have a friendship trade say what they need a new one. it was the idea of french president call the germans not necessarily would have said that they thought this was a great idea two years ago but the money remark all started so forcefully for example with his speech at the saw in two thousand and seventeen and for him this was a priority well it's a fact also that the old treaty is fifty six years old so as the german chancellor said today not necessarily adapted to our times and so this is how it came about so we had a customer what's going to change as a result sixty ages of warm words. well that's the big question now and what is remarkable is that it goes from big concepts like sharing defend offense like anti terrorism to rather small issues like border corp which of course is a big deal in the european context but it breaks down to learning languages. and which borders france becoming the first bilingual state here in germany even so there will be a track record that is for sure but it was in it

bringing these two countries closer and reenergizing the whole european project let's go now to max hoffman and michelle acuff were there for us you know two themes that stood out in the speeches of of both and. the threat to the project from within and outside europe and the need for a new impetus to push it forward as we just heard from john claude younger listening to on the macro how does she want to do that. under. specific. going forward a very typical i'm going to. will add something that is she talked about all the work that still needs to be done very unlike your mother in law call who was more about celebrating german french friendship she really stressed that there was so many things yet to be done stressed the importance of those things for example monetary union so you could already tell a small cultural difference here between the french and the germans with a different focus with both of course stressing the importance of this moment for french german unity but also for the european union yeah i mean it seems like in my room of course not afraid of thought of bracing moments

taking place here today ok certainly a lot of symbolism talk about that with michelle customer and max hoffman in a little bit when that treaty signing gets underway thanks for now. it's to britain now where prime minister threesome may is continuing her efforts to break the deadlock over on monday she outlined what was supposed to be an alternative plan after lawmakers rejected her original deal with the e.u. last week but the new plan fails to offer any new ideas. mr speaker turning to bret's if at first you don't succeed theresa may had an uphill battle on her second go at selling her brags of clamming she's faced criticism for refusing to take a no deal breaks it off the table but she said parliament held the key to solving the problem for state money the right way to rule out snow deal is for this house to approve a deal with the european. task that is not this government is seeking to achieve the only other guaranteed way to avoid a no deal bret's it is to revoke article fifty which would mean staying in the e.u. one of the hardest issues to untangle has been the so-called irish backstop

brussels bureau chief max hoffman and max i understand that you've actually heard more on the story haven't you. yeah well we had the official press conference by the e.u. commission who of course was asked a couple of questions not only by the w on that story they didn't say much i'm afraid to say here they acknowledge that there was and this is how they the wording is the there was a recent change in the way that diplomatic precedence list is implemented by the united states protocol and that just means you know which ambassador takes precedence over another ambassador so that is implicitly confirming that there was a change and then they also said that they are still currently discussing with the relevant services in the administration possible implications for the e.u. delegation in washington so not much there just a hint that yes there is something actually ongoing and that's what was the mood there i mean how has all of this gone down in brussels. well most of people this morning didn't really know anything about that even some of the relevant embassies you would think that we're fam

that britain actually goes ok for provisional in london thank you we want to take the story now to max hoffman he is joining us tonight from strong spring france that is the seat of the european parliament good evening to you maximum so the european union watching what's happening to me. in london let's assume what everyone's assuming that this plane is going to be defeated theresa may she has to come up with a plan b. by next monday. is there any indication from where you are that they're it's possible to get a plan b. out of your. was and i talked to one of the parliamentarians here earlier from the greens and i put that question towards him say but if we have that deadlock would you be willing to go and maybe do something about the withdrawal agreement with g even recommended maybe shorten the backs up or give it a time limit as bubble that is in london just mentioned and he got quite angry he said listen we didn't bring ourselves in that mess it was the u.k. who chose to do that and there's international law for example the good friday agreement we can't touch this so this is not up for di

very much alex we want to take this story now back to the european parliament cross reference next hoffman max i understand that you are speaking with a member of the e.u. parliament to get reaction to what has happened tonight. exactly brant we not only have a member of the european parliament we have a member of the briggs it steering group very experienced no other than m.r. bork who's here with me now and doubtfully also digesting the results two hundred and thirty votes that's a historical defeat for theresa may is that deal so bad the bridge it is a deal is so good because it's a compromise because there's no it was a coalition between the hot bricks of people and the remaining us want to stay and european union so that absolutely negative majority brought majority unexpected broad majority but this two groups cannot agree on anything but the saying no one's going to have hot plates and doesn't want to have. no brakes it at all and know that it's up to the british to make a proposal how to reconcile it but it seems like the european union will have to offer something so theresa may can s

s brussels bureau chief is max hoffman and our chief political correspondent melinda craig welcome both let's start with you max so the deal with a deal already done and presumed to be final we expect european leaders to say no more do you see any room for deviation from that on this backstop. yeah absolutely right phil we do expect them to say no more in fact they have said that quite a bit already today but here's the thing they're also saying we're ready to talk just not about the back stuff the brits say we want to talk but just about the backstop so yes it is a collision course here and in the end something will have to give that's for certain now officially there is unity in the european union some were surprised at that but there is unity when it comes to the backstop as well but make no mistake the european union members will follow the lead of ireland here because ireland is of course the country with the most to lose if there is a hard border between northern ireland and ireland and the big question is if three some may continue to play this the way she is if we are let's say

numbers that all yeah still lots of possibilities no certainty after tonight's events that's for sure max hoffman in strasbourg france tonight max thank you. british prime minister teresa mayes she categorically rejected again this evening the idea of holding a second breaks it referendum take of us a second referendum would lead instead to further division being no agreement to the question let alone the onsen it would say to the people we elected to say that we were are not willing to do what they had instructed. and i have to ask this rezoning defeat tonight and she's going to keep her job why mysteries in may why why is she was before she became this is important for our viewers to know before she became the prime minister you know she was a lukewarm remain or she didn't want to leave the european union why does she keep saying a second referendum is out of the question because she believes that the people of the u.k. have spoken and that's a majority although it wasn't as you know a huge majority but a majority voted to leave the e.u. and therefore it would be a dereliction of duty and it wo

european friends now grasp the opportunity to get this deal over the line so max hoffman dominic rob that makes it sound so simple even says the chief brant sadler goes signed up to the idea so why is this still a roadblock. can i just say one thing really nothing in this process has been simple the really isn't anything simpler what dominique rob is referring to you know technological solutions may be some kind of toll. that just doesn't work many experts have looked into it that's why that you tried to offer for example keeping more than an island in the customs union with the e.u. and effectively pushing the border between the u.k. and the e.u. out into the irish sea and having controls there as discreetly as possible but that the u.p.a. which is part of the government coalition of three some may will not have that then they also offered to keep the u.k. in a customs union the whole of the u.k. with the european union but that effectively defies the purpose of bragg's it so that's why the european union the backstop really is the only insurance policy that works everything else mi

that the opportunity for compromise and for a change to the deal has passed simon young in berlin max hoffman in strasbourg and big mass in london thank you very much to all of you. now as we just heard theresa may is expected to survive the vote of confidence in her government later today if so what would the main opposition labor party do next peter mandelson is a senior labor party veteran a former british cabinet minister and a former european union trade commissioner barbara basler asked him if the labor party would now push for a second referendum to resolve the brakes at impasse. i think what will happen in the first instance is that everyone will reflect on the true meaning and implications of this defeat tonight and they will realize that you can't come back to this steel i mean i've heard so many people today seizing on the words. expressed by the german foreign minister how come us who is being quoted right across the u.k. media saying that if the deal is defeated tonight we'll reopen negotiation now actually what he said was substantially more qualified than that pretty open the d

team coverage of what happened tonight we have our correspondents barbara veins all in one didn't max hoffman in strong. france and here at the big table in the studio with me is our. analyst alex forrest whiting it's good to have all of you here on the program barbara let me start with you in one been so unprecedented defeat for the british prime minister and yet she plans to carry on how do you explain that. under normal circumstances after a defeat as frustrating as we have seen it tonight as devastating and as really just complete and total because what can she say if she has this third party against her on this breck's a deal after in normal times the prime minister would have stood up and said sorry ladies and gentleman this is it i stepped down but we're not a normal times in british politics and so she had even beforehand because this was of course it defeat that everybody knew was about to happen it was only a question about the size of it it's so even the far head she had said she will stay on she will fight for her breaks it till the very end and we don't know when and where that e

so where is today's relationship headed standing by for us in often our correspondents max hoffman and michele acosta our good morning to both of you the location for this signing today is of course highly symbolic how is it contributing to today's event. well brian indeed it is highly symbolic you see the at least part of it the town hall of auckland behind me and mark my words this is at least part of it over a thousand years old so when this was started building the europeans hadn't even gone to america yet so that's how old it is and it's also in course in the city of charlemagne who is also seen by many as the father of europe and yes you can say there's probably no place in the whole of the european union that would be more symbolic than the town hall behind me but symbolic is just the word for this many criticize this new treaty as being just symbolic and actually not having what it takes to really make a difference with us is already criticism in german parliament take it from the green party but also the liberals here whose blog a man who i might call us almost has joined for

he never used michele hoffman joins us now live from auckland good morning to both of you max if i could start with you what's in the new treaty again and what will it mean for the u. . but if you read those sixteen pages of the new treaty it reminds you in many ways of the old treaty the treaty of the say because many feel they touch upon our known cultural corporation for example making sure their language skills for the other one across the borders but there are also some interesting new parts for example and hence corporation in the matters of defense and security we just heard that in that report it's extraordinary when you think back were those two nations were a little over seventy years ago even promising military assistance to each other then also they want to enhance cooperation in the border region sometimes people living there still have problems crossing the border living on both sides of the border so removing obstacles there there will also have some funding for that and the third part that gets a lot of european politicians excited in brussels is that they have actually p

reid hoffman was on the board. max was a computer scientist.r of this wanted it to be used for ebay -- want it to be used for ebay. this andpurist about it took off without his wanting it to. the story highlights dan schulman, a ceo. it was this pivotal shift -- do we cooperate with the visas and mastercards of the world or fight against them? the banks saying we will crush you, paypal. dan schulman said let's stop with the whole paypal killing discussion. maybe we can work together and make paypal a more dominant source. >> basically frenemies. apple and google were greeting their own payment systems -- creating their own payment systems. alix: where you vacation if you are really rich -- >> it is a buyers market. this year is set to be a buyers market. this chart shows what the expectations are versus the price declines in real estate. withof it has to do wealthier investors pulling back because of the stronger dollar. you have bigger, broader macro issues like brexit. >> and then you have micro issues like the developers in 2016 who didn't w