Brexit enemy: Juncker’s right-hand man is ready to CONQUER as EU fight heats up

The Commission vice-president has been branded Mr Juncker’s “plumber” and was once feted as one of the the rising stars of European politics and topped as the EU’s Next Big Thing.

He was passed over for high-profile chief Brexit negotiator job in favour of veteran French politician Michel Barnier.

Now he has been tasked with mopping up the bloc’s biggest issues preparing Brussels for a future without Britain as heavyweights Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron attempt to push through reforms. 

He has been left to with some of the EU’s more difficult and thankless clean-up jobs such as the migration issue, the rule-of-law dispute with Poland and relations with the European Parliament.

Mr Timmermans said: “I don’t always get the easiest jobs, let me put it that way.”

Diederik Samsom, the former leader of the Dutch Labor Party and a longtime friend and political ally, said: “His oratory skills are way beyond most of us.

“That bears some risks, but the advantages of it are far greater. 

“We need people who can tell a story. And at the same time if they can govern a bit, it’s quite a good combination.”

“If there’s one person who wants to conquer a room, it’s Frans Timmermans. He is devastated when it’s not successful.” 

The Dutch politican became Mr Juncker’s “right-hand man” and observers thought he was destined to become the most influential official in Brussels.

Mr Timmermans has been branded “a decision-making machine, that everything goes through him, that he was Juncker’s hands, ears, eyes, hands and feet.” 

As Mr Timmermans focuses on building the EU’s future, across the Channel Brexit Secretary David Davis is expected to set out plans for Britain’s transition period.