We’ve had a number of representatives of the EU feature high up the Power List: Jean-Claude Juncker in 2015 and Carlos Moedas in 2016. Michel Barnier is our judges’ choice this year, as the UK enters the critical period of the Brexit negotiations. Barnier’s presence is as significant as the absence of any of the UK’s negotiating team; to the extent that the UK has a coherent negotiating position, higher education does not feature very high up the priorities list.
Hence UK HE’s fate in the negotiations could well rest on the goodwill of Barnier and his bosses in the Commission and EU27. At the time of writing the sector is none-the-wiser on how hopes for retaining movement of staff and students, participating in European research programmes, and maintaining coregulation of key research areas such as nuclear and pharmaceuticals might pan out. The UK is on the backfoot, and it could be up to Barnier and his colleagues to find a settlement that may inadvertently help or harm British universities.