Michel Barnier has been named as chief negotiator and head of the Article 50 taskforce, which will coordinate the Commission's work on all strategic, operational, legal and financial issues related to the Brexit negotiations.

Barnier will be ranked at the director-general level and will take up his duties as of 1 October 2016. He will have a team of experts plus advice from a group of directors-general dealing with the issues relevant to the negotiations.

Sabine Weyand, currently deputy director-general in the Commission's trade department is named as deputy chief negotiator. A German national, Weyand has previously covered World Trade Organisation matters, trade defence, and worked on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: ‘This new taskforce will be composed of the Commission's best and brightest. They will help Michel Barnier to conduct the negotiations with the UK effectively, benefiting from the deep knowledge and rich experience available across the whole Commission. Together, Michel and his team will live up to this new challenge and help us to develop a new partnership with the UK after it will have left the EU.’

In line with its declared principle of 'no negotiation without notification', the European Commission said the task of the chief negotiator in the coming months will be to prepare the ground internally for the work ahead. Once the Article 50 process is triggered by the UK, he will take the necessary formal contacts with the UK authorities.