BREXIT : LINE UP OF KEY PLAYERS

On the UK side

• Oliver Letwin: Head of Brexit Unit and Chief Negotiator with the EU
• Senior civil servants from the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Olly Robbins, Whitehall Brexit Unit. The unit will seek out the expertise it needs in legal affairs and trade negotiations. Over 300 people to be recruited.

On the EU side

Council

1. Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen (DK): Secretary General of the Council
2. Jim Cloos (UK): Deputy Secretary-General
3. Hubert Legal (France): Council Legal Director
4. Piotr Serafin (Poland): Chief of Staff of European Council President Donald Tusk
5. Didier Seeuws (Belgium): Task Force Leader, former Chief of Staff of European Council President Herman van Rompuy
6. Among national governments, France is trying to carve out a leading role for itself and has set up a Taskforce of its own led by France’s Secretary-General for European Affairs, Philippe Leglise-Costa

The role of the Council is to set the guidelines and key conditions while the Commission’s EU policy experts will make concrete recommendations.

Commission

1. Michel Barnier France): European Commission’s Chief Brexit negotiator will lead the Commission’s Task Force for the preparation and conduct of negotiations with the UK after Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 and begins divorce procedings.
2. Martin Selmayr (Austria): Head of Cabinet of President Juncker is expected to be the Commission’s point person at least unofficially.
3. Alexander Italiener (Netherlands): EC Secretary-General
4. Luis Romero Requena (Spain): Head of legal services
5. The Directors-Generals in charge of the Commission’s various policy areas will also have major roles to play.

European Parliament

1. Elmar Brok (Germany): Observer
2. Guy Verhostadt (Belgium): Observer
3. Roberto Gualtieri (Italy): Observer

The European Parliament won’t be directly involved in the negotiations with the UK but it will try to make its presence felt before it must fulfill its official role- ratifying the final agreement. Once Article 50 is triggered, the Parliament is expected to set up the above three MEPs as observers of the process. The trio will meet with Commission officials regularly for updates on the negotiations and report back to other MEPs.