Michel Barnier and The Curse of Brexit

A tiny bit of Europe news penetrated the cement carapace of the British media last weekwith the claim that Michel Barnier, the French politician, who negotiated the Britain’s exit from Europe, had complained that in the final moment of Brexit negotiations in 2020 the President of the European Council, Ursula Von Der Leyen, did not take Barnier in for the final, final talks with Boris Johnson.

It is difficult to see this as a news story. Barnier has just published a memoir of his unhappy three months (September-December 2024) as prime minister of France. It was the shortest occupation of the Matignon, the residence of France’s Prime Minister in history.

The curse of Brexit saw Johnson booted out of political life by Tory MPs who could not take his serial lying any longer . Two years later his opposite number who negotiated the Exit Treaty which has done such harm to the UK economy also quit politics.

A new study by the Centre of European Reform shows that since Brexit 2019 UK trade volumes have grown just 1 per cent of their 2019 levels compared to an 8% growth in G7 and EU-27 economies. Brexit has thus done and continues to do calculable damage to Britain.

But Brexit also did for Michel Barnier who held several top French ministerial positions and EU commissioner posts from 1990s onwards under centre-right Fench governments. He describes himself as a “Social Gaullist” which is a lot closer to Tony Blair or “One Nation” Tory politics than anything on offer from current political leadership in Britain.

His complaint about being sidelined by Urusla Von Der Leyen is an old one he has repeatedly aired. She is president of the European Council and has to represent the wishes of 27 national government and their leaders who are good, bad, or irrelevant according to taste.

The Barnier moan about VDL as she is known in the EU got a few ageing editors in London who want to rekindle Brussels bashing as a story twitching. But if you read the French press account of Barnier’s book Britain and Brexit does not get a mention.

Our editors still think Bexit was a world-historic event that across Europe is seen as important. Sorry, but no one much mentions Brexit across the Channel. It is seen as an act of self-harm the Brits have done to themselves but are too weak and poorly led to put right.

As long as Britain refuses any serious re-engagement with Europe loosely modelled on a Swiss or Norway model of trade, open investment and people exchange with the EU, no-one will take much notice of what London says or does.

It is not properly understood perhaps that Macron’s decision to call a parliamentary election in 2024 in response to the good showing of the far-right Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party in the European Parliament elections that summer have all but destroyed his law-making or executive authority in domestic affairs in France.

Macron handed over the French National Assembly to Marine Le Pen and her far left opponent Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Like Jeremy Corbyn with the Labour Party Mélenchon’s ultra-leftism had its supporters but it is not accepted by one of the two major ruling parties in France, the Socialists. The Socialists have controlled both the Elysée and the Matignon this century. Macron had no political or electoral experience when he became president in 2017 and his foolish decision to dissolve the National Assembly has ensured France has no parliamentary majority.

Barnier like a Ken Clarke or Dominic Grieve complaining about what has happened to the Tory Party has no political authority in France any more. He was always a friend of Britain. We got on well as he welcomed a Minister from Britain or any country who was at home in French, enjoyed talking French politics, and believed in European partnership and growth.

As EU Commissioner for the regions 1999-2004 I got him to unknot a tricky problem that was causing difficulties for British firms in Northern Ireland. He then went on to be Foreign Minister where he partnered well with the UK.

With his twin experience as a minister and EU official Barnier understood the core secret of Europe. It is not Brussels or its denizens including Members of the European Parliament who decide EU policy. That is the jealously guarded right of the 27 national governments and parliaments of the nations who have signed the EU Treaty.

There are only 32,000 officials – the legendary Eurocrats – employed by the EU. This is fewer than half the number of tax (HMRC) officials in the UK. It is the EU Comissioners and their staff who propose directives to put into effect as legally binding instruments the proposals agreed by the elected governments and their ministers of Europe.

In most areas of policy a government can block or veto a proposal unilaterally. The pro-Putin government headed by Viktor Orban in Hungary has been playing this game. Four national EU governments – Spain, Greece, Slovakia and Romania – have blocked all progress to a peaceful settlement of the Western Balkans a quarter of a century after the Milosevic murder machine was finally stopped following military intervention. For petty internal political reasons Madrid, Athens, Bratislava and Bucharest refuse to recognise that Kosovo has the right to exist.

Instead they echo the Putin line from the Kremlin that Kosovo should return to rule from Belgrade. Putin argues the example of Kosovo applies to Ukraine which should accept the orders and wishes of Russia.

National governments nominate EU Commissioners for different reasons - they want to remove someone from national politics, they send a good minister to defend a narrow national interest as an EU Commissioner, but in general the national governments sddo not want a strong political Commission.

National capitals don’t even bother to pay lip service to Brussels as the capital of Europe or the idea of the EU replacing the nation state. The EU complements and makes stronger the nation state in many instances but does not replace it.

Barnier was a good choice to negotiate Brexit but it was mainly technical.

Johnson’s lifelong habit as a journalist and politician of telling lies on a Trump-like scale led of course to his downfall when MPs in the House of Commons including his own Conservative MPs turned away from him and dismissed him as prime minister in 2022.

Barnier therefore played a role as removing a British Prime Minister simply by defending EU interests and ignoring Johnson's stupid negotiating tactics.

British voters massively rejected Johnson and Brexit era Conservative prime ministers when they reduced the number of Tory MPs to the lowest level in history in the election a year ago. There are now more than 500 Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Scottish and Welsh nationalist MPs who mostly all regard Brexit as damaging the UK.

the very cautious, politically insecure Labour Prime Minister who had no experience of working in Europe or on EU issues and politics lacks the political self-confidence to reject the damage Johnson's ultra-hard Brexit has caused and continues to cause Britain. He seems unable to go beyond the welcome but very cautious so-called "reset" `agreement with Brussels in May.

Barnier was a friend of Britain ready to help as EU regional commissioner on supporting EU policy that helped investment in British regions. But he never found opposite numbers in London who thought European partnership was important and useful for Britain.