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This is the vote of no confidence of the European Commission with regard to Theresa May.
EU officials on Thursday unveiled the Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's red carpet, welcoming his main rival to the Commission's headquarters and giving him an important platform at a very sensitive stage of the negotiations on the European Union. Brexit.
Corbyn, who has harshly criticized May and his conservative party for mishandling Brexit, has yet to unveil a credible plan. But after being greeted for talks with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and Commission Secretary General Martin Selmayr, Corbyn seized the moment to present himself as a credible substitute for the prime minister in trouble.
Members of the Labor Party gathered a large number of journalists outside the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the Commission, where Mr Corbyn said he had used his meetings to present the Labor Perspective on Brexit. He insisted that he was not interfering with the negotiations and said that EU officials had not offered any response to his statements.
"We obviously do not negotiate; we are not in government, we are the opposition, "said Corbyn. "But I think it's [Barnier] was interested in knowing what our views are and the six tests we have established to hold our government, the British government.
For Corbyn, who hesitated about how he would vote in a second referendum, the visit was a useful distraction.
From the Berlaymont to No. 10 Downing Street, the Brexit has experienced a day of discomfort.
By all accounts, EU leaders have no intention of provoking or humiliating the month of May when they rejected its Brexit plan at the Salzburg summit in Austria last week.
But it was difficult to see anything other than provocation and humiliation by giving Corbyn such a hearing just after the Labor Party conference and May getting ready to organize a very controversial congress herself.
EU officials have sought to downplay the importance of the meetings, saying that Corbyn had requested the visit and, in the words of one official, "it would have been just as difficult to refuse to see him. In a tweetBarnier described it as an exercise "listening to all points of view".
Chief Negotiator of the EU for Brexit, Michel Barnier | John Thys / AFP via Getty Images
An EU official confirmed that Mr Corbyn had informed Barnier of the Labor Party's reflection at the end of his conference, adding that Mr Barnier had explained the state of affairs. Progress of negotiations, stressing that the October European Council will be the decisive progress on all outstanding withdrawal issues, including an emergency plan for the Irish border.
The official said Mr. Barnier also noted that there were "positive elements" in the May plan "but more work needs to be done economically".
But by publishing the welcome mat for the May political nemesis, EU senior leaders sent a clear message that their contingency plan now provided for the real possibility of leaving their posts. And they have been open to possible criticism of interfering in the UK's domestic policy – something that the Commission carefully avoids in any EU country.
Even if the EU did not want to send the message that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", it is clear that at least Brussels lost confidence in May's ability to maintain her conservative rank and prevent a no -deal, crash-out scenario. Corbyn and his Labor MPs may well be crucial on this front, if and when a withdrawal treaty comes to a vote.
Mai, however, was not the first not to be confronted with the unlikely route of Corbyn in the EU capital.
Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said at his daily press conference that he knew nothing about a meeting between Corbyn and Selmayr, the Commission Council's most trusted advisor, Jean-Claude Juncker . powerful anti-British voice at the top echelons of the Commission.
Martin Selmayr, Secretary General of the European Commission | Olivier Hoslet / EPA
The Corbyn-Selmayr meeting was one of the most bizarre exchanges between Schinas and the Brussels press, considering that many media outlets already reported it on the basis of briefings on the British side.
Perhaps the only one not to have something to blush was Corbyn, who took advantage of the visit to present himself as a credible future Prime Minister, to again mislead May and the conservatives on their Brexit management, and to attract the EU in British domestic politics, which could well derail negotiations and trigger new elections.
For Corbyn, who hesitated to vote in a second referendum, the visit was a useful distraction from his failure to unite the Labor Party around a common position on Brexit. Some members of his camp have called for a second referendum in the hope of canceling Brexit; others prefer a precipitous exit.
Corbyn even took advantage of his press conference to consider the possibility of new national elections.
At the party's conference, Corbyn argued that Labor should have the opportunity to negotiate a better Brexit, even though its own proposals do not seem more plausible than the May Checkers plan, which is now in tatters.
If Barnier hoped to use this visit as an intelligence gathering exercise to get a better sense of the situation in the House of Commons, the show host of May's rival in Brussels at such a sensitive time of the talks was at best indiscreet. at worst, an intentional affront designed to strengthen British negotiators at a time of weakness.
To make clear how provocative May's supporters seemed to be, Mr. Corbyn even took advantage of his press conference to consider the possibility of new national elections, answering a question about the need to postpone the deadline of 29 March for the United Kingdom. s departure to implement his own Brexit plan.
"Obviously, it depends on the election, the scenario," Corbyn said. "We would like to maintain a relationship with Europe around the six tests [Shadow Brexit Secretary] Keir [Starmer] clearly stated on behalf of the Labor Party. In fact, these six tests come first from the government. "
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