EU appoints Frenchman Barnier as Brexit negotiator

The European Union has appointed Frenchman Michel Barnier to lead the negotiations on Britain’s exit from the Union once London decides to initiate the talks.

Barnier is a veteran EU politician, who had two stints as Commissioner and also a member of parliament. In the French government, the 65-year-old also was foreign and European affairs minister.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday called him “a skilled negotiator with rich experience in major policy areas relevant to the negotiations.”

He said, “I am very glad that my friend Michel Barnier accepted this important and challenging task. I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job. Michel is a skilled negotiator with rich experience in major policy areas relevant to the negotiations, namely as Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Agriculture, and as Member of the Commission, in charge of Regional Policy, Institutional Reforms and of Internal Market and Services. He has an extensive network of contacts in the capitals of all EU Member States and in the European Parliament, which I consider a valuable asset for this function. Michel will have access to all Commission resources necessary to perform his tasks. He will report directly to me, and I will invite him to brief regularly the College to keep my team abreast of the negotiations. I am sure that he will live up to this new challenge and help us to develop a new partnership with the United Kingdom after it will have left the European Union.”

He will take up his position in October, although he will only start the essence of the job once Britain officially asks to start to the exit negotiations. It is still unclear when that will be.