France vs. Germany rift revealed as row over Brexit deal concessions intensifies

Conflict between EU power brokers triggered during Michel Barnier’s Covid isolation

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier (centre)
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier (centre)
(Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images)

"The Brexit talks suffered a serious setback after France and Germany clashed over concessions offered by the EU to the UK during negotiations conducted by a stand-in for the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier, it has emerged."

After Barnier was forced to self-isolate after being exposed to Covid-19, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen “tightened her grip on the negotiations” by sending Stephanie Riso, her deputy chief of staff, to run the talks, according to The Times.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.