The calm during the storm

CorporateDispatchPro

The calm during the storm

The invocation of Article 50 by the UK opened the door to a whirlwind that has blown past two British Prime Ministers, two EU Commissions, two UK elections, an EU Parliament election, three Brexit Secretaries of State. Amid all this turbulence, there was one constant: Michel Barnier.

The French politician was announced the EU’s Chief Negotiator on Brexit in July 2016 and, since then, he has been the face of the complex dialogue with the UK on behalf of the other members of the European Union.

Growing up in the French Alps in the 1950s and 1960s, Barnier enrolled in the boy scouts and the local choir, surely helpful experiences for the future task of congregating 27 governments into one voice and leading them through a winding and adventurous journey.

A graduate of the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, Barnier held various posts in government ministries before embarking on an accomplished political career, starting with his election to the French National Assembly in 1978, aged 27. The rising star joined Édouard Balladur’s Cabinet as Environment Minister in 1993 before Jacques Chirac appointed him secretary of state for European affairs two years later.

Barnier served as the European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission at the turn of the millennium. In the next few years, he oscillated between national politics as French minister and the European stage, first as vice president of the European People’s Party, then as special adviser to EU Commission President Manuel Barroso.

CorporateDispatchPro

The seasoned politician formed part of a high-level group that formulated what later came to be known as the Lisbon Treaty, modernising the foundations and aspirations of the European Union.

In 2010, Barnier was made EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services responsible for reforming the financial sector and laying the foundations for the digital single market.

From 2015, he advised the Juncker Commission before being formally appointed head of the EU’s Task Force on Brexit. His tempered demeanour shrouded a skill for diplomacy and compromise that held the EU national governments together and kept the dialogue with the UK moving forward.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is an achievement in the shared values, mutual respect and common intent that define the European spirit. Michel Barnier represents its embodiment