Brexit presents new chasms for Barnier the bridge builder
The EU’s main negotiator has to walk a tightrope between his bloc and breakaway Britain
Michel Barnier, the EU’s top Brexit negotiator, is the Brussels equivalent of a rock star. For three years, the unflappable 68-year-old Frenchman has been hashing out the terms of the UK’s departure while making sure the remaining 27 members stick together. He is the real survivor of the Brexit saga.
The fact that Barnier is still in the job is telling. Despite expectations that the Brits would make mincemeat of the perennially squabbling Europeans, it was the EU that stayed united while the UK cycled through two prime ministers, three Brexit secretaries and several botched attempts to get a better deal outside the bloc...
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