Robin Barnett

Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

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8th November 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Poland, part of Emerging Europe

I am off to London to participate in a week of events selling the opportunity for British business that Emerging Europe represents. Let me begin by defining Emerging Europe. At its core are nine markets, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, which together make up the Foreign Office’s Central European […]

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26th October 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Britain and Poland in the EU

Our Minister for Europe David Lidington was in town this week for discussions with Polish Ministers, commentators and representatives of British business. It was an excellent opportunity to challenge some of the assertions in the local media regarding the UK’s disengagement from the EU and our attitude towards Structural and Cohesion Funds for Poland. On […]

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22nd October 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

A varied week in the life of an ambassador

The last week has shown the many facets of our bilateral relationship. It began with an excellent seminar on reducing regulation, which we co-hosted with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy and the Prime Minister’s office. We exchanged experiences with Polish Ministers and experts and agreed that deregulation and reducing burdens on business […]

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9th October 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Railway cooperation? All on the right track!

I am just back from London,where I hosted a Poland/Romania/UK rail for growth event. Both the Polish and Romanian delegations were led by Ministers and included government representatives and rail industry experts. Both countries saw similar key challenges and opportunities in areas like safety, project management and funding future investment, for example the use of […]

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19th September 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

A great day for British-Polish relations

I am delighted to announce that Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Minister Philip Hammond are visiting Warsaw today. This is the latest high level visit by UK Ministers to Poland. They will discuss a range of issues with Foreign Minister Sikorski and Defence Minister Siemoniak. These will include the Future of Europe and the […]

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17th September 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Superhumans are back home

I am just back from leave and want to congratulate Poland’s magnificent paralympians on their fantastic achievement in winning 36 medals, including 14 golds. Just like the Team GB, the team exceeded expectations. I know that the London atmosphere of packed stadia full of passionate sports fans brought the very best out of every member of the […]

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30th August 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Paralympics – the greatest show on Earth continues.

I am just about to go on leave out of Poland. One of the things I plan to do is watch lots of the Paralympics live on TV. One of my best experiences thus far was the farewell ceremony for the Polish Paralympics team last Friday. They are a fantastic bunch of dedicated athletes, who are gunning […]

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30th July 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

A long but GREAT day

Olympics opening day began early! I was at Polish Radio at 0700, fortified only by a double espresso. The toughest question by far: “Can you explain the rules of cricket?” I noted that it was the only game which could last two hours or five days and included a tea interval. But I am already […]

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23rd July 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

A GREAT Summer

Sorry to have been off the air but I spent much of last week visiting Budapest and Bucharest in my role as Director of the Central European Network, which brings together nine Embassies in Central Europe. It was fascinating to compare the situation in Poland with the situations elsewhere in the area. There are many […]

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About Robin Barnett

Robin Barnett was British Ambassador to Ireland from 2016 to 2020. Between 2011 - 2016 he held the post of British Ambassador to Poland and his career has previously concentrated…

Robin Barnett was British Ambassador to Ireland from 2016 to 2020. Between 2011 - 2016 he held the post of British Ambassador to Poland and his career has previously concentrated on Central and Eastern Europe and multi-lateral diplomacy.

Robin began his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1980 as Desk Officer for Indonesia and the Philippines. In addition to Ireland, he has been posted to Vienna, New York and Bucharest, where he was Ambassador. He has also served as Director of UK Visas and Managing Director of the Business Group in UK Trade and Investment

Robin studied Law at Birmingham University. He has a son and a stepson and is a great admirer of Sir Alex Ferguson and a supporter of Manchester United.