The EU’s Negotiator in Chief for Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier, has officially withdrawn from the election race to become the Spitzenkandidat in his EPP party. He made his decision known in a letter to Joseph Daul, the President of the EPP, in which he explained that, “It is my duty and my responsibility to continue the Brexit negotiations until the end”.
Mr Barnier, from France, explained in his letter that “We are at the final hurdle of a serious and complex negotiation on the ordered withdrawal of the United Kingdom” and that he was making a “difficult” decision after the support and encouragement he had received. This commitment to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom is not currently “compatible with the timeframe” set out by his political family, added Michel Barnier. The EPP had effectively decided to close the deadline for submitting candidacies on 17 October and to select its candidate on 7 and 8 November in Helsinki.
The negotiations timeframe for Brexit is planning on at least one European Council, on 18 October, if not two, with another summit that could possibly take place in mid-November, to complete the talks in the event that an agreement is reached with London.
The EPP does not consider that Mr Barnier is out of the running because his name could be re-admitted during the negotiations for the heads of the executive. Michel Barnier has also made a commitment himself to remain “engaged and available for defending our values and renewing the European project together”.
Following Manfred Weber (see EUROPE 12089), Alexander Stubb is also expected to join the race on Tuesday in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12103). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)