The day after the announced resignation of Ivan Rogers (see EUROPE 11696), the British government appointed a new permanent representative to the EU, in the person of Sir Tim Barrow on Wednesday 4 January.
Sir Tim is currently the political director of the UK Foreign Office. He has previously served as ambassador to Moscow and has twice held a diplomatic post to the European Union in Brussels. His appointment has been welcomed in the United Kingdom by those in favour of Brexit, as they feel that he will be more favourable to the country's withdrawal from the EU than his predecessor, several media sources report.
Sir Tim, who was born in 1964, worked in the permanent representation of the United Kingdom to Brussels as British representative on the Political and Security Committee (COTS) between 2008 and 2011. His previous EU experience includes positions as deputy director in the 'Europe' directorate and first secretary to the permanent representation, the government states in a press release.
"I am honoured to be appointed as the UK's permanent representative to the EU at this crucial time", the new ambassador said. "We are delighted that Tim Barrow is taking up this role. A seasoned and tough negotiator, with extensive experience of securing UK objectives in Brussels, he will bring his trademark energy and creativity to this job – working alongside other senior officials and ministers to make a success of Brexit", a Downing Street spokesperson commented. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)