of the official negotiation sessions between the British and the Europeans. © John Thys/AP/SIPA/Getty Images
25. Peter Brookes, The Times, 18 September 2020. © The Times/News Licensing
26. In Berlin on 12 October 2020, with Chancellor Angela Merkel. We were both environment ministers for our respective countries in 1994. In her words: ‘Europe’s future is more important than Brexit.’ © Bundesregierung/Steffen Kugler
27. In London, 27 October 2020. En route between our hotel and the conference centre where the negotiations were taking place; remaining anonymous was not easy. © Michel Barnier
28. In the basement of the conference centre in London, in the room we were assigned by the British. Our teams worked here, night and day, for weeks. © Michel Barnier
29. 10 December 2020, fifteen days away from a deal which at that point still seemed unlikely. PM Boris Johnson and David Frost were in Brussels for a business dinner with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. © EU/Etienne Ansotte, 2020
30. In the late hours of 23 December 2020, my adviser Matthieu Hébert and I prepare the speech for my last press conference. © Michel Barnier
31. Elena Mongiorgi, Lacrima Europa, January 2020. © Elena Mongiorgi
The Main Players
For the UK
David Cameron – Prime Minister from May 2010 to July 2016. In January 2013 he committed himself to holding a referendum on his country’s membership of the EU.
Theresa May – Prime Minister from July 2016 to July 2019. It was under her leadership that the majority of the UK’s negotiations on the country’s withdrawal from the EU and the framework for a future relationship were conducted. However, the Withdrawal Agreement reached with her on 14 November 2018 was never ratified by the House of Commons.
Boris Johnson – Leading figure in the Brexit campaign and Prime Minister of the UK since July 2019. It was under his leadership that the final version of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the future relationship between the EU and the UK were agreed upon.
David Davis – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from July 2016 to July 2018. The first of four successive negotiators on the UK side. Resigned on 8 July 2018.
Dominic Raab – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from July to November 2018. The second UK Brexit negotiator. Resigned on 15 November 2018.
Steve Barclay – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from November 2018 to January 2020. The third UK Brexit negotiator. His post was abolished on 31 January 2020 when the UK left the EU.
Olly Robbins – Europe Adviser to Prime Minister Theresa May. The UK’s permanent negotiator and the EU team’s principal interlocutor throughout the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal until Boris Johnson took over in July 2019.
David Frost – Europe Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, succeeding Olly Robbins in the role. On 31 January 2020, the day the UK left the EU, he was appointed head of the newly formed Task Force Europe, leading the UK’s negotiating team during discussions on the future relationship.
Michael Gove – Leading figure in the Brexit campaign and minister of state in Boris Johnson’s government, responsible for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Dominic Cummings – Leave campaigner and supporter of hard Brexit. Chief adviser to Boris Johnson when he took office as Prime Minister. Left Downing Street abruptly on 13 November 2020.
Tim Barrow – The UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU, part of the British negotiating team for four years.
For the EU
Jean-Claude Juncker – President of the European Commission from November 2014 to November 2019. It was under the authority of this Luxembourgish politician that the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU were negotiated.
Ursula von der Leyen – President of the European Commission since December 2019, of German nationality. It was under her authority that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the UK was negotiated.
Donald Tusk – President of the European Council from December 2014 to November 2019, a Polish national. Led many of the discussions on Brexit between the EU’s other twenty-seven heads of state or government.
Charles Michel – President of the European Council since December 2019, a Belgian national. Presided over discussions between the twenty-seven heads of state or government on the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
Martin Schulz, Antonio Tajani, and David Sassoli – Successive presidents of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2021.
Guy Verhofstadt – Belgian MEP. Followed the negotiations closely on behalf of the European Parliament as chairman of the Brexit Steering Group.
Martin Selmayr – Senior European civil servant, of German nationality. Followed the negotiations with the UK very closely as Head of Cabinet to Jean-Claude Juncker and subsequently as Secretary-General of the European Commission until August 2019.
David McAllister – MEP, of German nationality. Chaired the European Parliament’s UK Coordination Group during the second round of negotiations.
Sabine Weyand – Senior European civil servant, of German nationality. Deputy Chief Negotiator for Brexit until May 2019, when she became Director-General for Trade at the European Commission.
Stéphanie Riso – Senior European civil servant, of French nationality. Director of the task force in charge of negotiations until September 2019, when she became Deputy Head of Cabinet to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Clara Martínez Alberola – Senior European civil servant, of Spanish nationality. Became EU Deputy Chief Negotiator for Brexit in January 2020. Previously Head of Cabinet to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Paulina Dejmek Hack – Senior EU official, of dual Swedish and Czech nationality. Became director of the negotiating task force in 2019. Previously an adviser in the cabinet of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Maroš Šefčovič – Slovak Vice-President of the European Commission. Responsible for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
A Warning
‘I don’t like this Michel Barnier.’ So, that’s settled then!
In
