Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet for dinner as they try to reach a breakthrough on a post-Brexit trade deal 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 in their post-Brexit trade agreements.
As part of its departure from the EU, the UK has agreed to carry out controls on goods moving across the Irish Sea, from Scotland, Wales and England to Northern Ireland. The latter has remained part of the EU’s single market for goods to avoid a tough border with the Republic of Ireland in what is known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The UK had until the end of this month to present these checks, but decided to extend the implementation period until October. A move that the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has said violates their agreement and therefore international law.
Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission, “expressed the EU’s strong concerns about the unilateral action of the United Kingdom, as this is a violation of the relevant substantive provisions of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland,” the commission said in a statement. statement on Wednesday ahead of an appeal between EU and UK representatives.
“The European Commission will respond to these developments in accordance with the established legal means,” the statement said.
The UK government said it informed the commission “earlier this week” before making the announcement public and that extending the implementation grace period is a “temporary” technical step “to give more time to businesses such as supermarkets and parcel operators. to adapt to and implement the new requirements. “
Supermarkets and other food retailers will need health certificates when transporting animal products.
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s head of foreign affairs, said in a statement that the UK’s decision was “deeply useless for building the relationship of trust and partnership that is essential for the implementation of the protocol”.
“The focus of the Irish government remains to ensure that the Protocol, as an international agreement between the EU and the UK, is fully implemented. It is the agreed solution to the problems created on the island of Brexit by Ireland,” 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 are at odds with their post-Brexit agreements.
In October last year, the EU initiated legal proceedings against the United Kingdom after the government introduced a bill that would have annulled 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 a trade agreement to be agreed on 24 December.