EU takes action against UK for breaching withdrawal deal
BRUSSELS (DPA) 1
OCTOBER 2020 - The European Commission has launched legal action against Britain over its new Internal Market Bill.
“The commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government.this is the first step in an infringement procedure,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
“This draft bill is by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down by the withdrawal agreement,” she added.
The EU executive had warned Britain to withdraw its proposed Internal Market Bill by the end of September.
The Internal Market Bill gives Prime Minister Boris Johnson the power to override a provision in the withdrawal agreement that would impose different post-brexit customs rules on Northern Ireland than the rest of the United Kingdom.
“If adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the protocol of Ireland/northern Ireland,” von der Leyen said on Thursday. The commission’s letter requests Britain provide further information within a month, the first step in an infringement procedure.
Von der Leyen added that the commission sent the letter “because we want this situation clarified.” “We are working hard to have the withdrawal agreement implemented fully and timely,” she said.
The infringement process can ultimately result in the top EU court imposing sanctions, but this process takes at least several months.