As people across Britain wait to hear whether the long-running negotiations have finally culminated in a deal, here is a look at the key figures involved: Michel Barnier and Lord Frost.
Michel Barnier: The diplomat who has kept 27 EU states united
EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier arrives at St Pancras Station ahead of the resumption of Brexit negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom, on 22 October, 2020 in London, England.
(Getty Images)
Dubbed the Dr No of Brexit talks by UK critics, the EU’s chief withdrawal negotiator Michel Barnier has always insisted he only wants to treat Britain fairly.
But former French minister Mr Barnier has displayed military discipline in keeping the remaining 27 EU states united as the UK and Brussels try to hammer out the terms of their very public divorce.
Mr Barnier was a little known Eurocrat when he was charged with going up against London in Brexit talks, but the job has made him one of the most high-profile figures in the EU.
The suave and seasoned diplomat always insisted he did not want to punish the UK for quitting the EU, but his dogged approach during the negotiations has enraged hard-line Brexiteers.
It is believed that he still has lingering ambitions to eventually become president of the European Commission following a failed bid in 2014.
The former French Europe minister’s appointment to the role of EU chief Brexit negotiator by then Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was viewed as an aggressive move at the time.
Mr Barnier was dubbed the “most dangerous man” in Europe in some quarters of the press when he was appointed internal market commissioner with powers over financial regulation in the wake of the financial crash.
He is said to have angered the usually cool Sir Mervyn King to such an extent during one meeting that the then Bank of England governor was shaking with rage an hour after it ended.
In the end fishing rights and the “level playing field” turned out to be the major sticking points in the divorce deliberations, and Mr Barnier showed a touch of humour when he posted a photo of himself looking out at football pitches during a break in talks.
Mr Barnier, 69, who is married with three children, always insisted the fears about his role in regulating the City of London were “unfair and unjust” and said he went into the role wanting to “build a compromise”.
He became involved in French politics as a teenager and later came to prominence after running the successful bid to secure the 1992 Winter Olympics for his country.
A key figure in centre-right politics, he served as minister for the environment, European affairs, foreign affairs and agriculture under presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.
He is a keen hiker and to mark the formal start of talks in June 2017, then Brexit secretary David Davis presented Mr Barnier with a first edition of one the great mountaineering books – a French language version of Regards vers l’Annapurna, signed by Marcel Ichac, one of the two authors.
The book is said to be a stunning account of an epic French expedition to the Himalayas in 1950.
Lord Frost: The Brexit true believer picked to negotiate with Brussels
Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost arrives at the UK Representation to the EU in Brussels on 17 December, 2020.
(AFP via Getty Images)
David Frost is a former career diplomat who was hand-picked by Boris Johnson to lead Britain’s negotiations with Brussels as the country navigates its final break with the European Union.
Unlike his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, Lord Frost is a determinedly low-key figure who largely shuns the cameras and rarely speaks in public.
He is, however, a Brexit true believer whom the prime minister believed had the steely negotiating skills needed to deliver a deal.
Born in Derby in 1965 and educated at Nottingham High School, he went on to study French and history at Oxford, where he gained a first.
After university he entered the Foreign Office, where he was fast-tracked for promotion, including an early posting to Brussels in 1993.
It was there, apparently, that the seeds of his Euroscepticism were sown as he became disenchanted with the growing European “super state” – although he kept his views well hidden from colleagues.
The young diplomat’s posting also coincided with Mr Johnson’s time as a journalist in the Belgian capital, where he made his name with articles panning the European bureaucracy – although it is not recorded whether the two men knew each other.
Lord Frost’s rise through the Foreign Office culminated in his appointment at the age of 41 as the UK ambassador to Copenhagen, followed by a secondment to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as Britain’s most senior trade policy official.
His seemingly smooth career trajectory however took an unexpected turn in 2013 when he left the Diplomatic Service after more than 25 years to become chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association.
His views on the EU were becoming more overt as he became a member of the advisory council of the Eurosceptic think tank Open Europe.
When Mr Johnson was appointed foreign secretary by Theresa May in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum, he brought in Lord Frost as his political special adviser.
Three years later, when Mr Johnson succeeded Ms May as prime minister – having done much to make her position in No 10 untenable – he again turned to Lord Frost, making him his chief adviser and negotiator on Europe.
In a further sign of his confidence in him, in June 2020 Mr Johnson announced he would become National Security Adviser when Sir Mark Sedwill stepped down in September – although he has yet to take up his duties while talks with Brussels continue. He was also made a life peer.
An ally of Mr Johnson’s controversial former chief adviser Dominic Cummings, he nevertheless did not follow him out of No 10 when he dramatically departed last month in an internal power struggle.
