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The clock is ticking for Michel Barnier.
Deal or no deal with the U.K., according to the European Commission staff regulations, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator is required to retire at the end of January, when he will turn 70.
Both parties in the talks say they want a trade deal to come into force following the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.
That would mean a natural end to Barnier’s role at the end of the year, but the failure to reach an agreement so far has raised the possibility that Brexit work might spill over into 2021, potentially forcing Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to make an exception to the EU bureaucracy’s mandatory retirement rules.
According to the Commission’s staff regulations, officials are required to retire at age 66, but can have their service extended by up to four years.
“An official may at his own request, and where the appointing authority considers it justified in the interests of the service, carry on working until the age of 67, or exceptionally, until the age of 70, in which case he shall be retired automatically on the last day of the month in which he reaches that age,” the regulations state. Barnier turns 70 on January 9. Eric Mamer, the Commission’s chief spokesman, confirmed the mandatory retirement age but said the Commission never comments on individual employment cases.
Von der Leyen and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed on Saturday that negotiations should continue after the final, formally scheduled round of talks concluded last week with the two sides still some way from an agreement.
Johnson has repeatedly insisted that the U.K. would not ask for an extension of the transition period. And the legal deadline for doing so passed on June 30. But the potential economic damage in the event of no-deal might force Johnson to change his mind, and prompt Brussels to agree, particularly if it seems that a deal and parliamentary ratification need only a few more weeks.
Leaders in the U.K. and Europe had long said that a deal would need to be completed by mid-October in order to achieve ratification before the end of the year. But given fierce disagreements on issues like fisheries and the so-called level playing field — rules governing fair competition — the chances of an accord ahead of an EU leaders summit in Brussels next week look slim.
Barnier, a veteran French minister and Commission official, has been so integral to the EU’s management of Brexit that it’s difficult to imagine any discussions with the U.K. continuing without him. Diplomats and Commission officials say decisions on any potential replacement have not been made. The issue has also not been raised at the Commission’s U.K. Working Party.
Barnier has not indicated publicly what he intends to do, or if he would accept any offer to stay on.
There has been speculation that after Brexit he might be selected to preside over the Conference on the Future of Europe, a pet proposal of French President Emmanuel Macron. Officials close to Barnier say that he is not mulling any career plans other than to finalize the EU’s negotiations on a trade deal.
Veteran EU officials said it would be possible for von der Leyen to circumvent the rules to keep Barnier in his job beyond the standard retirement age, including by making him a consultant or special adviser.
Barbara Moens contributed reporting.
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