Brexit and Northern Ireland are once again at the heart of the EU-Britain dispute. If Britain does not act by the deadline, the Union can take Britain to EU law.
15.6. 19:45
London
European the union is taking legal action against britain because the british government has arbitrarily set out to amend the brexit agreement.
The legal action was announced by the Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič on Wednesday in Brussels.
“There is no legal or political justification for unilaterally amending an international agreement. It also violates international law, ”Šefčovič said in its opinion.
According to the commissioner, Britain’s actions are “illegal”.
It’s about is once again from Northern Ireland, which remained in the EU internal market for trade in goods with Brexit.
At the same time, a new customs border was created inside the United Kingdom, that is, in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Britain. This has hampered trade within the country.
Prime minister Boris Johnson the Conservative government is now trying to resolve the matter arbitrarily. Foreign minister Liz Truss brought on Monday a bill in the House of Commons of the British Parliament to “remedy” the shortcomings of the Additional Protocol to the Brexit Agreement in Northern Ireland.
It was clear in advance that the EU Commission would not consider the actions of the British government to be good.
Commission Mr Šefčovič said on Wednesday that confidence between the EU and Britain was severely affected by Britain’s recent bill.
“It has clearly increased uncertainty and cast a shadow over all our cooperation. And all this at a time when respect for international agreements is even more important. ”
Initiated by the EU Commission legal proceedings consist of three parts.
Firstly, the Commission is re-launching the infringement procedure it launched in March 2021. The focus is on exports of agricultural products and food.
If Britain does not respond satisfactorily within two months, the European Commission will consider bringing Britain into EU law. The court, in turn, may impose a penalty payment, for example.
Other possible means of force in the EU include punitive tariffs on British products.
European Commission also launches two new infringement proceedings.
The first concerns the British Government’s failure to act on the border with Northern Ireland. The Commission considers that the agreed customs controls are not being met. There is reportedly not enough manpower or infrastructure to implement the Brexit bureaucracy.
According to the Commission, Britain has also not provided the EU with relevant kappa statistics. The EU needs information on trade flows in order to keep an eye on the interests of the internal market.
Commission offers Britain a carrot as well. The Commission is once again proposing measures to streamline trade between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
“We know that [Pohjois-Irlannin lisäpöytäkirjan] application has brought some practical problems, ”Šefčovič said.
It has already been known that more than 80% of the import problems in Northern Ireland would be solved if Britain and the EU agreed on conditions governing the safety of animal and plant products (the so-called SPS conditions, i.e. Sanitary and phytosanitary standards).
However, it is difficult for the British government to adhere to EU standards because it would water down the key promise of Brexit: unbreakable from all EU regulation.
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