Michael Leigh is a consultant and senior advisor to GMF in Brussels. He focuses on European Neighbourhood Policy, post-Lisbon Europe, China’s growing role in the European Union neighborhood, and EU relations with Israel and the Middle East. He also has an interest in south Atlantic cooperation, especially with Brazil. Leigh, a British national, became director-general for enlargement in 2006 after serving for three years as external relations deputy director-general with responsibility for European Neighbourhood Policy, relations with Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East and the Mediterranean countries. He began his current role after more than thirty years in EU institutions, including as a cabinet member for various Commissioners and as director in the Task Force for the EU Accession Negotiations. Leigh began his career as assistant professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University’ and lecturer in international relations at the University of Sussex.