EU takes legal action over UK’s ‘grace period’
Row over Northern Ireland Protocol
THE EUROPEAN Union is formally launching legal action against the UK for unilaterally extending the post-Brexit grace periods on trade in Northern Ireland in an alleged violation of international law.
In an escalation of tensions, the European Commission is taking the first step towards proceedings over the alleged breach of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Officials in Brussels said the Government had effectively decided to impose an “open-ended extension” to the light-touch regulatory periods, that were due to end this month.
The grace periods cover areas such as supermarket supplies and parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland from Great Britain and mean checks are not yet fully applied.
“The UK must stop acting unilaterally, and stop violating the rules it has signed up to,” the EU official said. “What we need in orIt
der to implement the protocol is mutual trust and this kind of unilateral action that we see from the UK does not build trust.”
The official said a “letter of formal notice” was to be sent to Westminster yesterday over the alleged breaches, marking the beginning of the formal infringement process.
requests that the UK carries out “swift remedial action to restore compliance with the terms of the protocol”.
After speaking yesterday morning, EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic was sending a separate “political” letter to Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost, who negotiated the Brexit deal.
The official said that letter calls on the Government to “rectify and refrain from putting into practice” issues announced by the UK over the grace period on March 3 and calls for bilateral discussions in good faith to find a solution to begin by the end of the month.
The first of the grace periods had been due to expire at the end of March but the UK has pledged to extend them until October in a move widely welcomed by businesses in Belfast.
The EU official said an “openended extension to certain grace periods” amounted to a violation of international law creating problems for stakeholders who need “stability and predictably”.