Barnier sets out stall as a 'reformer'

In one of the most keenly anticipated European Parliamentary hearings, Michel Barnier put in an assured performance on Wednesday evening (13 January) that had several MEPs calling him commissioner rather than commissioner-designate by the end of the session.

The French centre-right nominee for the internal market post, and currently a European deputy himself, appeared to have judged the mood of his interviewers well, with repeated references to a 'social agenda' to protect citizens dra...