Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, meet for dinner during a breakthrough on a post-Brexit trade agreement on December 9, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.
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LONDON – The European Union is threatening new legal action against the United Kingdom over differences over its post-Brexit trade arrangements.
As part of its departure from the EU, the United Kingdom has agreed to control the goods moving across the Irish Sea from Scotland, Wales and England to Northern Ireland. The latter remained part of the EU internal market for goods in order to avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland in the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The UK was able to submit these checks until the end of this month, but decided to extend the implementation period to October. A move that, according to the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, violates their agreement and thus international law.
Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, “expressed the EU’s strong concern at the unilateral action of the United Kingdom, as it amounts to a breach of the relevant essential provisions of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. , “the commission said in a statement on Wednesday ahead of a call between EU and UK representatives.
“The European Commission will respond to these developments in accordance with the legal means established,” the statement said.
The UK government said it had notified the commission “earlier this week” before announcing the announcement and that extending the grace period for implementation was a “temporary” technical step to give more time to businesses such as supermarkets and offer package companies to customize. to and implement the new requirements. “
Supermarkets and other food retailers need health certificates when shipping animal products.
Simon Coveney, head of foreign affairs in Ireland, said in a statement that the UK ruling was “unhelpful in establishing the relationship of trust and partnership that is central to the implementation of the protocol”.
“The Irish Government’s focus remains on ensuring that the Protocol, as an international agreement concluded by the EU and the United Kingdom, is fully implemented. This is the agreed solution to the problems facing Brexit on the island of Ireland. create, “he added.
Coveney said he regretted the move during a meeting with Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis and Lord Forst, the cabinet minister responsible for EU-UK relations.
This is not the first time that Brussels and London have been in conflict over their post-Brexit arrangements.
In October last year, the EU launched legal action against the UK after the government introduced a bill that would violate the same agreement on Northern Ireland.
Finally, after a few weeks of meetings and discussions, the UK decided to drop the controversial clauses in the bill, which paved the way for the agreement to be agreed on 24 December.