By choosing Michel Barnier for Matignon, Emmanuel Macron has appointed the French politician who has spent the most time in Brussels. With three European Union (EU) mandates during his career, Michel Barnier has forged a strong European commitment that led him to the Brexit negotiation. A commitment from which he has however distanced himself since.
And with our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
The first appointment of Michel Barnier as European Commissioner for Regional Policy dates back 25 years, but it was above all his participation in the Convention for the Future of Europe that marked this first mandate, even if the European Constitutional Treaty did not survive. to its rejection by the French referendums and Dutch.
His first return to Brussels was in 2010 as Commissioner for the Internal Market. He then applied for the presidency of the European Commission. But it was especially during his last visit to Brussels for the Brexit that he marked the most.
After finally learning to speak English, Michel Barnier has built a reputation among European officials as a hard-working and efficient man facing a stream of British negotiators and prime ministers. He has managed to secure both an orderly withdrawal treaty for the United Kingdom and a still-valid agreement for Euro-British relations.
Break with European commitment
- RFI
