Michel Barnier - My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion

If the treaties are the legal texts of the Brexit talks then this is the human version, revealing a Michel Barnier who is much warmer and far less diplomatic than his public persona. Its a masterclass in how the EU operates, and a rare glimpse into the tensions on their side.

Adam Fleming, Chief Political Correspondent, BBC News

For historians writing about the UKs long and painful exit from the European Union, Michel Barniers account is essential reading. For anyone interested in Brexit, it offers a valuable guide to the EUs negotiating strategy and the people who shaped it.

Jennifer Rankin, Brussels Correspondent, The Guardian

This is a political thriller: 500 pages of twists and turns, advances and setbacks, taking place behind the scenes in an altogether extraordinary negotiation.

Nicolas Demorand, France Inter

The former European chief negotiator has delivered his Brexit novel: a unique experience of four and a half years recounted day by day, in the theatre of the powerful with its noble aims and petty squabbles, its backtracking and its bluffs, its laughter and its tears, including very personal ones. And its absolutely riveting.

Mathieu Laine, Les chos

How did the European Union deal with the challenge of losing a leading member state? In this unique insiders account, the EUs chief negotiator reflects on the Brexit process, how it unfolded and how he managed the EUs approach to the talks. Required reading for everyone interested in figuring out what happened and why.

Anand Menon, Kings College, London

This book is required reading for anyone seriously interested in the exhausting saga of the Brexit negotiations, and it is good to have an English edition of what is undoubtedly an important historical document.

Robert Tombs, University of Cambridge

Michel Barnier

Translated by Robin Mackay

polity

Originally published in French as La Grande Illusion. Journal secret du Brexit (20162020) ditions GALLIMARD, Paris, 2021

This English edition Polity Press, 2021

Illustration 12 source: Ingram Pinn, 2018, Taking Back Control, Financial Times / FT.com. 27 July 2018. Used under licence from the Financial Times. All Rights Reserved.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-5086-9 (hardback)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021943873

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To Oriana and Theodore, both born during this long negotiation, who kindly shared their grandfather with the British

Beat at this gate that let thy folly in,

And thy dear judgement out!

Shakespeare, King Lear

La Grande Illusion is a wonderful film by Jean Renoir, released in 1937. It is also the title of an essay by Norman Angell (The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power in Nations to their Economic and Social Advantage), published in 1910, in which the English author argued that, given the economic and financial bonds uniting the European nations with one another, war had become an impossibility. Although this prediction turned out to be wrong, in his book Angell clearly shows that war is a process of mutual depletion in which there is no winner.

The first lie of the Brexit campaign: in May 2016, Boris Johnson alleges that the 350 million per week relinquished by Brussels would be used to fund the NHS instead. Darren Staples/Reuters

A hateful conflation from Nigel Farage in June 2016, which intentionally misattributes the cause of the flow of Middle Eastern refugees to freedom of movement within the EU. Daniel Leal-Olivas/Stringer/Getty Images

Thyborn, Denmark, 21 April 2017, a trip out to sea in minus 22 degrees Celsius, to listen to fishermen who work in British waters. Henning Bagger/Denmark OUT/AFP/Getty Images

12 May 2017, on the yellow line that divides Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, or the invisible border between the EU and the UK. Michel Barnier

With Brian Burgess, an Irish farmer, and his European cows, several metres from the Northern Irish border. Michel Barnier

Patrick Blower, Telegraph, 19 June 2017. Garland/Telegraph Media Group Limited 2021

My two deputies, Sabine Weyand and Stphanie Riso, and I received David Davis, Tim Barrow and Olly Robbins on 17 July 2017 they had left their papers behind! Thierry Charlier/Reuters

At Berlaymont, seat of the European Commission, a convivial moment on my birthday with my whole team, 9 January 2018. Michel Barnier

In May 2018, at the Derry/Londonderry Guildhall. A spontaneous discussion with Northern Irish school pupils. Michel Barnier

For four years, we visited a new capital city each week in order to meet their nations government, the national parliament, trade unions or businesses. Here we are in Lisbon with Prime Minister Antonio Costa, 26 May 2018. Michel Barnier

A frank and direct discussion with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn in his office in Parliament in Budapest, 4 June 2018. When it comes to Brexit, he always supported the EU. Government of Hungary. Photographer: Balzs Szecsdi.

Ingram Pinn, Financial Times, 27 July 2018. Financial Times

Christian Adams, Evening Standard, 4 March 2019. Christian Adams/Evening Standard

Jean-Claude Juncker and I meet Theresa May in Strasbourg. Demanding negotiations dont preclude courteous manners! Alex Kraus/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Meeting of the Brexit Steering Group at the European Parliament, chaired by the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. European unity is founded on transparency and trust. EU/tienne Ansotte, 2019

Teatime! The role of Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, was decisive throughout the negotiations. Photo taken 8 April 2019 in Dublin. Charles McQuillan/Stringer/Getty Images

No one, not even Nigel Farage, ever convinced me of the added value of Brexit. Here we are in Strasbourg at the European Parliament, where we had many tussles during the plenary session. EU/tienne Ansotte, 2019