DeHavilland EU Brexit Negotiators DeHavilland EU has produced this guide to the key players in the three main EU institutions during the Brexit process. The Commission, Council and Parliament have all appointed their negotiators, and we examine them and the other key influencers, while explaining the role of each. © DeHavilland Information Services Ltd 2016 October 2016 © DeHavilland EU Ltd 2016. All rights reserved. European Commission DeHavilland EU Michel Barnier Key Influencers European Commission Chief Negotiator ■ Jean-Claude Juncker A controversial choice in the eyes of many, Mr Barnier was ap- With the Commission managing the detail of the nego- pointed as the Commission’s lead negotiator over the summer. tiations, its outspoken President will be central. He has He is best known for leading the Commission’s response to the stated that “Brexit will not be an amicable divorce”. financial crisis, and has also held several high profile roles in the French government, including Foreign Minister. ■ Frans Timmermans The anglophile First Vice-President and former Dutch Described by the media as ‘smooth-talking’ and ‘silver-haired’, he Foreign Minister leads on institutional matters, and is has a reputation as a pragmatist rather than an intellectual. often seen as the Commission ‘fixer’. Despite his reputation as the ‘scourge of the City’, he recently ■ Martin Selmayr stressed in an interview with Libération that “Having London President Juncker’s chief of staff has unprecedent- against us would be counterproductive”. Since beginning work a ed power behind the scenes, and has said that Brexit month ago, he has been travelling Europe, meeting with national should be viewed as an opportunity for the EU. leaders ahead of the triggering of Article 50. Negotiating Team Why the Commission matters As the EU’s civil service, the bulk of the technical Michel Barnier expertise lies with the European Commission, which is therefore best placed to conduct the nitty-gritty of the negotiations with the UK. Sabine Weyand While the Council is expected to consider the longer- term relationship, the Commission will look at the Stéphanie Riso François Arbault Georg Riekeles Nina Obermaier technicalities of extricating the UK from the EU in the short-term. Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier will be the Deputy Chief Negotiator, German, former main face of the EU’s negotiating team. Deputy Director General in DG TRADE Principal Adviser to Michel Barnier, French, a Following Brexit, it will also be the Commission’s DG former Head of Unit in DG Budget Advisor for Interinstitutional Relations, Trade that would be responsible for negotiating any free Norwegian, he used to be in Barnier’s cabinet trade deal with the UK, if that is the route taken. Member of the Task Force, was formerly in Member of the Task Force, previously Barnier’s cabinet, and most recently has been Deputy Head of the Switzerland desk at the Head of Unit in DG GROW European External Action Service Image courtesy of European People’s Party Council of the EU DeHavilland EU Didier Seeuws Council Negotiators Head of Special Task Force on the UK ■ Donald Tusk Belgian civil servant Didier Seeuws had the honour of being the As European Council President, the former Polish PM first Brexit appointee, entrusted with heading the Council’s Task will chair the crucial summit meetings, and has already Force merely days after the referendum. made some outspoken statements on Brexit. He has spent his career in and around the Council, having worked ■ Maltese Presidency for former European Council President Herman van Rompuy, and, Malta takes over the Presidency of the Council for six coincidentally, European Parliament Brexit negotiator Guy months in January 2017. PM Joseph Muscat has said he Verhofstadt. expects the UK to be left with a “fair” but “inferior deal”. Mr Seeuws is highly respected in the institutions as an intelligent ■ Estonian Presidency and pragmatic operator, but has little visibility outside the Brussels The UK was originally scheduled to take the Presidency bubble - a state of affairs that is unlikely to change, as Donald Tusk in July 2017, but Estonia was bumped up to replace it. remains the man in the public eye. Key Member States Why the Council matters Whatever the formal powers of the Council, it is unargu- As ever, Germany is the most influen- France too has elections next year, with ably the Member States that have most influence over the tial player in the room. Chancellor An- François Hollande unlikely to continue Brexit process. gela Merkel is renowned as both prag- as President. Traditionally the UK’s main matic and risk-averse, but a lot will depend on the rival, France has one eye on post-Brexit possibili- The European Council (heads of state and government) results of the German elections in October 2017. ties, with former central banker Christian Noyer set out the guidelines for the negotiating process, and once Michael Roth, EU Affairs Minister, is widely seen appointed to promote Paris as an alternative finan- talks are wrapped up, the Council will need to approve at the government’s point man for the Brexit talks. cial centre to London. the agreement by a qualified majority vote (meaning that no country has a veto). During the talks, the Council will meet without the UK when necessary. The de facto leader of the eastern Euro- The Netherlands has generally been The long-term constitutional relationship between the pean Member States, Poland is a major a close ally of the UK, and has its own UK and the EU will also ultimately depend on the whims player. With many expats, the free eurosceptic movements to deal with do- of the other Member States. movement of people is a red line, but it may also mestically. PM Mark Rutte has taken a surprising- take the chance to push its own EU reform ideas. ly hard line however, stating after the referendum Currently the right-wing government of Beata that the UK “has collapsed -- politically, economi- Szydło has its own EU disagreements however. cally, monetarily and constitutionally”. European Parliament DeHavilland EU Guy Verhofstadt Key Influencers European Parliament Chief Negotiator ■ Martin Schulz Mr Verhofstadt is one of the most visible and outspoken members As President, the German Social Democrat has been key of the European Parliament, and is particularly known as a fervent in increasing the institution’s powers. He may soon have federalist, making him immediately unpopular with many UK pol- to step down from the role however. iticians. ■ Danuta Hübner He is leader of the liberal ALDE group, and is a former Prime Min- As Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the ister of Belgium. He was appointed by the Conference of Presidents Polish MEP and former Commissioner will be key, par- as ‘point man for Brexit negotiations’. Such a role has no basis in ticularly on issues such as the status of Scotland. the Treaty, so it will largely be what Mr Verhofstadt can make of it. ■ Jerzy Buzek As the European Parliament tries to assert its power in the talks, The veteran MEP has been both EP President and Polish Verhofstadt has already insisted that as a whole, it has more influ- PM. He now chairs the Conference of Committee Chairs, ence over the process than any Member State. giving him a seat at the table for many relevant meetings. Main Political Groups Why the Parliament matters The Parliament has very little formal involvement in the Part of the informal ‘grand coalition’ The EPP is the largest political group, process - but it does need to approve the final agreement with the EPP, S&D leader Gianni Pittel- which the UK Conservative Party actu- in a plenary vote. Although only a simple majority is la has called for a ‘New Pact for Europe’ ally left in 2009. Group leader Manfred needed for approval, this does effectively give MEPs a following the Brexit vote. He highlighted that Weber has expressed anger over the actions of the veto. British government, calling for the resignation of while a good relationship with the UK is in every- Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, but has stressed one’s interests, “we will not allow a deal where MEPs like to point out that the Parliament is the only that the UK should not be “punished”. the UK can pick and choose”. democratically elected institution however, so its partici- pation in the process lends a certain legitimacy. And with personalities such as Mr Schulz and Mr Verhof- The ECR group is in an interesting posi- The liberal ALDE group has dispropor- stadt involved, MEPs will not be shy about insisting on tion, dominated by British Conservative tionate influence as leader Guy Verhof- having a place at the negotiating table, and have already MEPs. Group leader Syed Kamall cam- stadt is the EP negotiator. He has made held a number of public debates on the issue. paigned in favour of his country leaving the EU, clear the ALDE position: “whatever the new rela- and will likely be sidelined to some degree. The tionship, it can never infringe on the four funda- group’s non-UK MEPs, with Poland the largest mental freedoms. European values will never be delegation, are all advocates of EU reform. up for negotiation”. Image courtesy of Martin Kraft.