Michel Barnier appears to be eyeing up Sir Keir Starmer as the next Prime Minister, saying he is a “European”. The politician, who previously served as the European Commission’s Head of Task Force for Relations with the UK, said he has “respect” for Sir Keir. He told LBC he believes the Labour leader “has the capacity to be the Prime Minister”.
When asked about Sir Keir’s plan for dynamic alignment with different sectors within the EU, Mr Barnier said the “door is open for new relations”.
While the Labour leader has ruled out a return to the European Union, he has adopted a “Make Brexit Work” approach, which would involve aligning with some EU laws.
When asked his opinion on Sir Keir by Andrew Marr, Mr Barnier said: “I met several times Keir Starmer when he was on the side of the leader of the Labour Party, and I have a respect for him.
“I wrote my book; on our last meeting, he seems to me that he has the capacity to be the Prime Minister of UK… And I think he’s a European.”
When asked what he means by Sir Keir being “a European”, Mr Barnier explained: “I think that Keir Starmer as many, many politicians, even in the Tory Party, know that to face some global challenges, we have to work at a European level.
“Even if UK or Norway or Switzerland… we need to work as a continent to face some global challenges. Better together than alone.”
Speaking about Sir Keir’s plans for dynamic alignment with different sectors within the EU, he replied: “The door is open for new relations.
“The door is open, but one point is clear, we will not accept any kind of cherry-picking from the single market and Keir Starmer knows this point.”
Opposition leader Sir Keir has long been thought to be the Brussels favourite to take over from Mr Sunak.
Fabian Zuleeg, the chief executive of the European Policy Centre, previously said the Conservative party has “badly damaged” “stability, reliability and confidence”, adding that he “cannot wait” for the Labour leader to become Prime Minister.
Mr Zulegg said: “We still have quite a time to go. But, in a sense, what we have seen is the collapse of the economic case for Brexit – not that there ever was one.
“At least with Labour, we would not see all the hang-ups with Europe that the Conservative Party has.
“Here in Brussels, we want stability, reliability and confidence – and that has been badly damaged by the Conservatives.
“I cannot wait for Kier Starmer to be Prime Minister. Everyone in Brussels is aching for a new relationship, and he quietly is building trust and investing in a solid relationship.”
Meanwhile, Austrian MEP Andreas Schieder said he believed Sir Keir could rebuild trust with the EU.
Mr Scheider, who co-wrote the EU Parliament’s 2021 bill on the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), told The i: “I’ve met Starmer and I can see he would be much better.
“He would be reliable – we have had too many breaches under the Conservatives. We know when he agrees to something, it will be settled – and this is what the EU is looking for.”
But he added: “We do not expect that Britain will come back with a Labour government – that would be too soon. The challenge is to get Brexit done by fixing the solvable issue like customs.”