Michel Barnier

In 2023, we visited the Barniers at home. I would never have predicted that a year later he’d become Macron’s prime minister

The French president’s new choice of PM shows that his political project has ended in failure

‘There is no room for a renegotiation of substance’ says the EU’s former Brexit chief

Six months after his role as chief Brexit negotiator for the European Union came to an end, Michel Barnier has told Euronews that he would “prefer not to say” what he thought of UK negotiators.  The interview coincides with the Frenchman releasing a book, My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion, documenting the arduous 1600 […]

Often seen as serious to the point of greyness, former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has surprised many with his incendiary comments on immigration. So what lies behind them? He seemed to be everything Brexiteers disliked about the EU. A serious-minded bureaucrat steeped in the smooth workings of Europe’s capitals and chancelleries and adept at relentlessly channelling the orthodoxies of […]

Michel Barnier has told a French broadcaster the country must suspend all non-EU immigration for up to five years, in what is being seen as a tilt at the French presidency. Barnier told public broadcaster France 2 that the EU’s external borders had become a “sieve”. “I think we have to take the time for three or five years […]

Dominic Raab “chickened out” of no-deal Brexit after his threats to pull out of talks were met with support from the EU, Michel Barnier states in his new book. The Grand Illusion: A Secret Diary of Brexit – out this autumn in English – delivers a detailed insight into Brexit negotiations from the EU’s chief […]

Britain’s Brexit trade deal with the EU was determined by “quarrels, low blows, [and] multiple betrayals” by self-aggrandizing Tory MPs, Michel Barnier has written in his long-awaited memoirs. The UK’s problem, writes Barnier in The Great Illusion, was that it began negotiations by “talking to themselves,” leading its negotiating team to “underestimate the legal complexity of this divorce, […]

The European Union has said it “will not hesitate” to use dispute resolution mechanisms in the Brexit deal if the UK breaches the agreement. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, was speaking as MEPs prepared to ratify the deal thrashed out between the EU and UK. Von der Leyen told the European Parliament […]

Michel Barnier, the man who led the European Union’s negotiations with the UK, claimed that Brexit is a “mark of failure”. Speaking in front of MEPs as they prepared to vote on the trade agreement with the UK, he attributed the Brexit vote to “social anger and tensions” in the UK. He said: “This is a divorce. […]

Critics of the Northern Ireland protocol have failed to provide alternatives, the EU’s ambassador to the UK said as he slammed politicians looking to tear up the agreement. João Vale de Almeida called on unionist leaders to focus on making the protocol work rather than fighting against it, pledging Brussels’ commitment to flexibility on its […]

Michel Barnier has launched his own political faction, fueling speculation he could be preparing to challenge Emmanuel Macron in next year’s presidential elections in France. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator announced on Tuesday that he would be establishing a new political group within the French Conservative party, Les Républicains – mere weeks before his mission in Brussels […]

Michel Barnier has accused Downing Street of not correctly explaining the consequences of Brexit to British businesses as a row surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to heat up. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator hit out at No 10, insisting scenes of empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland were not the result of new checks in […]

The EU’s top Brexit official has warned Downing Street to be “very careful” in how it handles the diplomatic status of the EU’s ambassador to London. Michel Barnier, who brokered a trade deal with Britain on behalf of the EU, said it would be “wise” for the UK to find a solution to the dispute over its […]

Michel Barnier has become the first foreign winner of the European of the Year award given by the European Movement Ireland group thanks to his work on Brexit negotiations. The EU negotiator was given the award via a virtual ceremony for his role in defending the Republic of Ireland’s interests during Brexit negotiations. Barner also received praised […]

New Brexit red tape causing friction at Britain’s borders are an “obvious and inevitable” part of leaving the EU and are here to stay, former chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said. Barnier said businesses could expect to overcome “glitches, problems, and breakdowns” caused by new paperwork in the weeks and months ahead but warned that other […]

The public has reacted to news that British students will no longer be able to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme under the new Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson. Speaking at a press conference after the deal was agreed, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: “I have just two regrets in terms of our societal […]

Dubbed the Dr No of Brexit talks by UK critics, the EU’s chief withdrawal negotiator Michel Barnier has always insisted he only wants to treat Britain fairly. But former French minister Barnier has displayed military discipline in keeping the remaining 27 EU states united as the UK and Brussels try to hammer out the terms […]

Michel Barnier is updating EU ambassadors on Brexit talks with just nine days until the end of the transition period. Ahead of his briefing, the EU’s chief negotiator said: “We are really in a crucial moment and we are giving it a final push. “In 10 days, the UK will leave the single market and I […]

James O’Brien has said an EU trade deal was inevitable and stated the reasons why in his final Brexit prediction of the year. Ahead of Michael Barnier updating EU ambassadors on the state of negotiations, O’Brien said he was confident a deal was in the works. “I can’t see it not happening, I can’t see […]

The EU’s chief negotiator is reportedly set to make an announcement on Brexit on Tuesday. Barnier will update EU ambassadors at 3pm GMT before addressing MEPs at 5pm. It comes after reports overnight on Boris Johnson’s new compromise on fishing arrangements. According to EU sources, British demand for a 60% reduction in the catch by value […]

A prominent MEP has suggested a Brexit trade deal was still possible and could happen “at the end” of December. Guy Verhofstadt said he was “optimistic” a deal between Britain and the EU could be struck at the last moment. Verhofstadt told Sky News: “I’m optimistic by nature. It happens always at the end. “If […]

European Parliament group leaders have adopted a declaration setting a Brexit deadline date of Sunday to ensure a deal is achieved. The declaration from the Conference of Presidents, initiated by Spanish member Iratxe Garcia Perez, states they are ready to hold an extraordinary session at the end of December if an agreement is reached by […]

Boris Johnson has arrived for last-ditch talks in Brussels with the European Commission’s top official aimed at breaking the deadlock in trade deal negotiations. The prime minister and Ursula von der Leyen will have dinner with their chief negotiators Michel Barnier and Lord Frost as they race against the clock to secure an agreement. Johnson […]

Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson has said that the prime minister has accepted that food prices will rise if the UK leaves the post-Brexit transition period without a trade deal in place. He referred reporters to environment secretary George Eustice saying there would be a less than 2% rise on some products as a result of […]

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier has cancelled a Brexit briefing with national envoys because of “ongoing intensive negotiations in London”, a spokesman for the bloc confirmed. Barnier has binned a Friday briefing for national envoys to the bloc in the latest sign both sides could be nearing a trade deal. Hopes for an agreement had been […]

Despite the EU originally setting a deadline for this week, both sides have agreed to suspend talks after another positive case of coronavirus amongst the negotiation teams. Brussels diplomat Michel Barnier announced that high-level talks between the EU and UK would be paused with just 42 days until the Brexit transition period ends. He tweeted: “One […]

Twitter users have lapped up a tweet by Michel Barnier in which he mocks the state of Brexit trade talks. In a swipe at Britain’s Brexit team, Barnier, The EU’s chief negotiator, shared a picture himself at a London football pitch with the caption: “Short break from intense EU-UK negotiations in London. Went looking for level playing fields…” […]

Michel Barnier has said “very serious divergences” remain between the European Union and UK as efforts continue to strike a post-Brexit trade deal. The EU’s chief negotiator said the main stumbling blocks remained the “level playing field” aimed at preventing unfair competition on areas including state subsidies, fisheries policy and the governance of any deal. […]

Boris Johnson’s spokesman has confirmed that the UK government had missed the European Union’s deadline for replying to its formal letter of notice about the controversial Internal Market Bill. It leaves the government facing further legal action for failure to explain why he intends to break international law over Brexit, after ministers admitted an intention to […]

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said that “much remains to be done” to broker a post-Brexit trade deal as negotiations continued in Brussels. He said they are working hard to get an agreement but that there were still significant gaps after seven days of “intensive negotiations” in London. Talks with his Downing Street counterpart, […]