The Economist Asks: Michel Barnier
We ask Michel Barnier: what is the future of Europe?
The European Union’s former chief Brexit negotiator, and author of “My Secret Brexit Diary”, talks to “The Economist Asks”
MICHEL BARNIER has been on the inside track of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. He was the EU’s iron-willed chief Brexit negotiator, who spent four long—and at times acrimonious—years thrashing out a deal with a rotating cast of British counterparts.
Nearly two years after Britain ended its membership of the EU after almost half a century, a shortage of migrant workers is causing severe disruption to fuel and food deliveries, unresolved trade issues are provoking tensions on the island of Ireland and, with a fishing war breaking out in the English Channel, the arguments over the impact of Brexit feel very much alive.
As Mr Barnier tells his side of the story in his book “My Secret Brexit Diary” and reinvents himself by making a return to domestic politics, Anne McElvoy asks him: how does he see the future of European unity? And can the parties either side of Brexit end a stand-off about the Northern Ireland protocol?
He also describes his experience working alongside Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson, his vision for France and what he hopes to achieve in his bid to be its next president.
And, after four years of tussles with Britain, would he still call himself an Anglophile? Runtime: 23 min
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn
Please subscribe to The Economist for full access to print, digital and audio editions: economist.com/podcastoffer