Yahoo Finance Corbyn meets Barnier in push for “sensible” Brexit deal
Jeremy Corbyn has told the EU what conditions must be met in order for him to back a Brexit deal, a day after he confirmed Labour would block the Chequers plan.
The Labour leader set out his party’s six tests for a deal during what he described as a “useful discussion” with EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier in Brussels.
“We’re obviously not negotiating – we’re not in government – but he was interested to know what our views are and the six tests with which we will hold our government to account in future,” Corbyn told reporters after the meeting.
Corbyn said he wants to maintain a customs union with the EU in order to protect jobs and prevent a hard border in Ireland. He also said he was “utterly determined” to protect the rights of EU national living in the UK after Brexit.
The meeting comes amid concern in Brussels that Labour could bring down any Brexit deal achieved by the government in order to spark a general election.
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In his speech to Labour conference on Wednesday, he told the prime minister: “If you can’t negotiate that deal then you need to make way for a party that can.”
Corbyn said Labour would vote against the Chequers plan “as it stands” but did offer to put aside “parliamentary posturing” to deliver a deal if it met certain conditions.
“If you deliver a deal that includes a customs union and no hard border in Ireland, if you protect jobs, people’s rights at work and environmental and consumer standards – then we will support that sensible deal,” he said in a direct appeal to Theresa May.
Ashley Fox MEP, the leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, hit back on Thursday, saying: “Corbyn’s determination to oppose any deal the Prime Minister secures in Brussels, simply to try and force a General Election, threatens the livelihoods of people not only in Britain but across the Europe.
“The EU knows this and regards him as a threat to the negotiations.”
Asked after his meeting with Barnier whether Labour would delay Article 50 in order to negotiate a better deal if they won a snap election, Corbyn said: “Obviously it depends when the election is as to what the scenario would be.”
Corbyn made the trip to Brussels in order to attend a ceremony to mark the renaming of a city square in honour of the late Labour MP, Jo Cox, who was murdered by a far-right terrorist.
The square is next to the Ancienne Belgique concert venue where Cox was a regular during her six years working in Brussels for Oxfam and as an assistant to a Labour MEP.
The Labour leader said his meeting with Barnier was part of an informal agreement to meet whenever he was in Brussels.
Corbyn held a second meeting in his four hours at the commission with its general secretary, Martin Selmayr, who is overseeing the bloc’s preparations for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
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There was confusion over whether the meeting was going ahead right up until Corbyn’s arrival.
It was briefed in advance that Corbyn would be meeting Selmayr, a controversial figure nicknamed ‘the monster’ whose recent double promotion sparked a cronyism scandal.
But the European Commission chief spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said he was “not aware of such a meeting” despite calling Selmayr a “friend for many years.”
“I only operate on the basis of what I know,” he told reporters. “There is no such meeting as far as I know.”
Just hours later, the commission’s deputy chief spokesperson Mina Andreeva confirmed the meeting was taking place.
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