The divorce between the UK and the EU is getting worse by the day.
The European Union said on Monday it was taking legal action against the United Kingdom, claiming the former member did not respect the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and violated international law.
The EU of 27 countries is objecting to Britain unilaterally extending a grace period to 1 April that applies to trade on the island of Ireland, where the EU and the UK share a land border and where a special trading system has been set up as part of the Brexit divorce agreement.
“The recent measures have put the UK back on track for a deliberate breach of its obligations under international law and the duty of good faith that must apply,” EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic told his British counterpart David Frost. writing.
This indicates a further deterioration of relations between the two parties since a divorce transition period ended on 1 January. Disputes ranged from battles over vaccines to the full diplomatic recognition of the EU in Britain and now again the terms of the divorce agreement.
On 3 March, the UK decided to unilaterally extend a grace period until October for checks for goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but after Brexit remained part of the EU’s internal market for goods to avoid a hard border that could revive sectarian violence. This means that products coming from Britain are subject to EU import regulations.
A British government spokesman said he would respond to the European Commission in due course, insisting that the measures were temporary and aimed at reducing disruptions in Northern Ireland.
“They are legal and part of a progressive implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol and good faith,” the spokesman said in a statement. ” Important operational measures such as these are very precedent-setting and common in the early days of major international treaties. In some areas, the EU also seems to need time to implement the details of our agreements. This is a normal process when implementing new treaties and not something that should justify legal action. ”
In September last year, the UK had already upset the bloc of 27 countries when they considered legislation that would give the government of Boris Johnson the power to dominate part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement with regard to Northern Ireland. The EU therefore sees the United Kingdom’s statement on March 3 as proof that Britain now wanted to break an international agreement twice.
The sensitivity of Northern Ireland’s status was highlighted this year when the EU threatened to ban shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland as part of efforts to sharpen the bloc’s supply. It would have drawn a hard line on the island of Ireland – exactly the scenario the Brexit agreement was designed to avoid.
The grace periods cover areas such as animal products and delivery of parcels to Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain and mean that checks are not yet fully implemented. The first of the grace periods would expire at the end of this month, but the UK has promised to extend it to October in a move widely welcomed by businesses in Northern Ireland.
The UK government has said it sees challenges facing businesses such as supermarkets in Northern Ireland in the first weeks of the year. “Therefore, it is right to give them a proper period to plan ahead, especially in the current circumstances of a global pandemic,” he added.
In what is part of a protracted legal process, the EU has sent a so-called ‘letter of formal notice’ to London in which it complains that it is in breach of the EU-UK agreement. The UK has one month to respond before the EU can start a second phase. The issue could eventually go to arbitration, and eventually the UK could be hit by financial sanctions.
Sefcovic wrote in his letter that he hoped the UK would soon submit a plan on the application of the Northern Ireland checks in order to ward off further legal action.
Monday’s move was an indication of the general bad climate between the two parties. Only last week, EU and UK leaders went head-to-head in a furious exchange over vaccine exports.
After the British government summoned the EU envoy to declare remarks by Charles Michel, president of the European Council, that Britain had issued a ban on the export of vaccines, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that it was his “wish is to rectify the proposal of the European Council. President.”
Already uncomfortable bedmates during Britain’s 47 years of EU membership, relations have worsened since the 2016 referendum when the UK voted to leave the bloc. After bitter departure talks, the split became official last year, but both parties then started fighting over a trade agreement.
An agreement was reached on Christmas Eve, but has yet to be approved by the European Parliament. The latest legal issues may have an impact on the adoption of the legislation.