British opposition leader in Brussels to discuss Brexit

British opposition leader in Brussels to discuss Brexit

Jeremy Corbyn will arrive in Brussels on Thursday to meet European officials on the sidelines of the EU summit and try to unblock talks on Brexit. Accompanied by Keir Starmer (Mr Brexit of Labor), Corbyn will meet EU's chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, and the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

Labor has been in full swing since the June 8 elections in the UK, which saw Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lose their absolute majority in Parliament. Jeremy Corbyn regularly criticizes the way the Prime Minister leads the Brexit negotiations.

In a statement issued by his office, the opposition leader accuses the government of Theresa May of going "dangerously" towards an exit from the EU without an agreement with Brussels, something which "threatens British jobs and living standards".

"This is why it is in the interest of all to increase the pressure to get real progress in the negotiations," he added, pleading for "a Brexit that gives priority to employment by retaining a free access to the single market".

European leaders meet on Thursday and Friday (19 - 20 October) for a summit in Brussels where they will take stock of the first five negotiating sessions.

London is pushing to move on to the next phase of negotiations and start discussing the future trade relationship between EU and UK.

But the EU takes the position that this will not happen as long as "sufficient progress" has not been recorded on three priority dossiers: the rights of EU citizens in UK, the consequences of Brexit for Ireland and the financial regulation of commitments made by UK as a member country.

The Brussels Times


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