The divorce between the UK and the EU is getting worse and worse every day.
The European Union said on Monday it was taking legal action against the United Kingdom, claiming that the former member did not comply with the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and was violating international law.
The EU of 27 nations opposes the UK unilaterally extending a grace period beyond 1 April which applies to trade on the island of Ireland, where the EU and the United Kingdom have a land border and where a special trading system has been established. Brexit divorce.
“Recent measures have once again put the United Kingdom on the path of deliberate breach of its obligations under international law and the duty of good faith that should prevail,” EU Vice-President Maros Sefcovic wrote to his British counterpart, David Frost. .
It marks a worsening of relations between the two sides since the end of the transition period of the divorce on 1 January. Disputes have ranged from vaccine fights to full EU diplomatic recognition in the UK and now again the terms of the divorce agreement.
On 3 March, the United Kingdom decided to unilaterally extend a grace period until October to check goods moving between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but has remained part of the EU’s single market for goods after Brexit to avoid a tough border that could revive sectarian violence. This means that products arriving from the UK face EU import regulations.
A British government spokesman said it would respond to the EU commission “on time”, insisting the measures were temporary and aimed at reducing disruption in Northern Ireland.
“They are legal and part of a progressive and bona fide implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Small key operational measures, like these, are well preceded 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 for the implementation of new treaties and not something that should justify legal action. ”
In September last year, Britain already upset the bloc of 27 nations when it considered legislation that would have given Boris Johnson’s government the power to cancel part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland. So the EU sees Britain’s March 3 statement as proof that Britain has now twice tried to break an international agreement.
The sensitivity of Northern Ireland’s status was emphasized this year, when the EU threatened to ban shipments of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland as part of measures to strengthen the bloc’s supply. This would have drawn a hard line on the island of Ireland – exactly the scenario that the Brexit agreement was designed to avoid.
Grace periods cover areas such as animal products and parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and average checks are not yet fully applied. The first of the grace periods was due to expire at the end of this month, but the UK has pledged to extend them until October, with a move welcomed by businesses in Northern Ireland.
The British government said it had seen challenges faced by businesses such as supermarkets in Northern Ireland in the first weeks of the year. That is why it is right to give them an appropriate extra period for them to plan ahead, especially in the current circumstances of a global pandemic, she added.
As part of an extended legal process, the EU has sent a so-called “letter of delay” to London, complaining 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 lead to arbitration, and eventually the UK could be affected by financial sanctions.
Sefcovic wrote in his letter that he hopes the UK will soon come up with a plan on how to carry out controls in Northern Ireland so as to prevent legal action.
Monday’s move indicated the general bad weather between the two sides. Only last week, EU and UK leaders faced an exchange of anger over vaccine exports.
After the British government summoned the EU envoy to explain the comments of European Council President Charles Michel that Britain had issued a ban on vaccine exports, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that it was “his desire to correct the Council’s suggestion European President. ”
Bed companies already uneasy during the 47 years of accession to the UK, relations have worsened since the 2016 referendum, when the United Kingdom voted to leave the bloc. After heated discussions, the split became official last year, but both sides then began fighting for a trade deal.
An agreement was reached on Christmas Eve, but has yet to be approved by the European Parliament. The latest legal issues could have an impact on legislative approval.