19 Facts About Michel Barnier

Michel Barnier is a French politician who served as the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2021.

Michel Barnier previously served as Chief Negotiator, Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU from October 2016 to November 2019.

Michel Barnier served at European level as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 1999 to 2004 and European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2010 to 2014.

Michel Barnier served as vice president of the European People's Party from 2010 to 2015.

Michel Barnier was born at La Tronche in the French Alps, into a Gaullist family in 1951.

Michel Barnier graduated from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris in 1972.

Michel Barnier served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers in the 1970s, before being elected in 1978, aged 27, to the French National Assembly as deputy for the Department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic, serving until 1993.

Together with Jean-Claude Killy, Michel Barnier organised the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville as co-president of the COJO.

Michel Barnier first joined the French Cabinet as Minister of the Environment following the Right's landslide victory in the 1993 legislative election.

Michel Barnier then served as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission from 1999 until 31 March 2004.

Michel Barnier considered he was unjustly sanctioned for the victory of the "No" in the French referendum over the European Constitution.

In March 2006, Michel Barnier was elected vice president of the European People's Party for a three-year term.

Michel Barnier worked in 2006 as a special adviser to Jose Manuel Barroso, then President of the European Commission, and presented a report to the Council of Ministers proposing the creation of a European civil-protection force.

Michel Barnier led the UMP list in Ile-de-France for the 2009 European Parliament election.

Michel Barnier was twice appointed Acting Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in Antonio Tajani's stead, from 19 April 2014 to 25 May 2014 while he was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 elections to the European Parliament and from 1 July 2014 to 16 July 2014 after he took up his seat.

From 2015, Michel Barnier served as unpaid special adviser on European defence policy to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

On 27 July 2016, Michel Barnier was announced as the European Commission's chief negotiator with the United Kingdom over leaving the European Union, under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union.

In January 2021, Michel Barnier was appointed special adviser to President Ursula von der Leyen overseeing the ratification of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, under new arrangements that handed responsibility for implementing the agreement to Vice President Maros Sefcovic.

Michel Barnier proposes to "immediately stop regularizations, rigorously limit family reunification, reduce the reception of foreign students and the systematic execution of the double penalty ".