Macron Must Follow Barnier...And Blame The EU For Brexit

Oh, well, I suppose it is better late than never.

- Ross Clark

But wouldn’t it have made life so much more pleasant for everyone had Michel Barnier had his change of heart a little earlier, when Britain was still locked in withdrawal negotiations with the EU?

Brexit, now believes Barnier, was “primarily a failure of the EU”. The decision of Britain to vote to leave, he said in an interview this week, cannot be written off as populism. Rather many voters felt “abandoned” by the bloc as it failed to address concerns about the loss of manufacturing jobs and the effects of uncontrolled migration.

It is little wonder that Barnier has changed his tune somewhat. As he campaigns for next May’s presidential election, he is coming to realise that many of the issues bother the French public, too.

Indeed, if he doesn’t address French disenchantment with the EU he has no chance of winning. An opinion poll published six weeks ago – the Standard Eurobarometer – found that just 36 per cent of the French public trust the EU and its institutions, while 50 per cent say they do not trust them.