EU launches fresh legal action against Britain over post-Brexit changes
- EU says UK’s unilateral decision is violating international law, but European Commission, bloc’s executive branch, insists on joint solution outside the courts
- Proposed bill seeks to remove customs checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from rest of UK, overriding trade treaty PM Boris Johnson signed with EU
The European Union is launching legal action against the UK in response to Britain’s unilateral moves to rip up parts of the post-Brexit deal between both sides, officials said on Wednesday.
But the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, insisted it remained open to finding a joint solution outside the courts.
The proposed UK bill seeks to remove customs checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. That will override parts of the trade treaty that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed with the EU less than two years ago.
The EU believes that the UK’s unilateral decision is violating international law and is unacceptable.
European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič told a news conference in Brussels that he is willing to keep talks going with the UK in bringing long-term certainty to people and businesses in Northern Ireland, but insisted solutions should be found within the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
The protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s single market for goods.
