UK faces EU lawsuit over N Ireland row
BRUSSELS has launched legal action against the UK for delaying the start of Brexit checks on goods passing between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Boris Johnson has extended a grace period that allows for some items, such as parcels and supermarket supplies, to be waved through to prevent disruption.
But the EU says this is a breach of the deal done to avoid checks at Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic.
A ‘letter of formal notice’ has been issued as the first step in a case that could end up in the European Court of Justice and lead to financial and trade sanctions being imposed.
Before the Brexit trade deal was forged at Christmas, the UK threatened to break the rules on Northern Ireland if there was a no-deal.
And European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic yesterday said the
PM had ‘once again set the UK on a path of a deliberate breach of its international law obligations’.
An EU official added that the UK had failed to explain how the checks would be implemented after the grace period. ‘We think it is an enormous problem because there are real-life issues behind this and the stakeholders need stability and predictability,’ the official said. No.10 said the UK remains committed to the Northern Ireland Protocol but added: ‘There are issues that have emerged since the implementation of the protocol.’ Work is being carried out by a joint committee that brings together both sides, a spokesman said. Mr Johnson insists the extension is ‘very sensible’, and ministers have denied there has been any breach.