(Brussels) Today, President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker appointed a Frenchman, Michel Barnier, former vice president of the Commission and former minister of the French government, in the role of chief negotiator, leading the work group conducting negotiations with the United Kingdom within article 50 of the EU Treaty, following the UK referendum for exiting the country from the EU. As the Commission in Brussels says, Michel Barnier will debate “with President Juncker directly, and will be able to rely on the best experts of the executive branch”. Moreover, he will be able to rely on a team of general managers, “used to dealing with the issues to be debated during negotiations”. Junker says: “I am very glad that my friend Michel Barnier accepted this important and challenging task. I wanted and experienced politician for this difficult job. Michel is a qualified negotiator, with remarkable experience in the big political sectors to be faced during negotiations” with London.