EU LANCHES SUIT VS UK FOR NORTHERN IRELAND BREXIT BREACH

The European Commission took legal steps against Britain on Monday, March 16, 2021, for allegedly breaking Brexit deal rules by dragging its feet on implementing customs system changes in Northern Ireland, Ella Joyner ad Isobel Frodsham reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The EU executive branch announced it had sent two letters to London: One triggers the first step of infringement proceedings under EU law and the other is a complaint to London about violations of the withdrawal agreement.

The first step could ultimately see London taken to the EU high court, though this process could take months or more.

"The United Kingdom must stop acting unilaterally, and stop violating the rules it has signed up to," an EU official said on condition of anonymity.

As part of the Brexit deal, British-administered Northern Ireland has remained aligned with EU customs rules, to avoid setting up a politically sensitive hard border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU state.

This creates a goods border between Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom where imports must be controlled, causing a major headache for the British food and logistics industries.

According to Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, these arrangements "preserve peace and stability" at the Irish border while also protecting the integrity of the EU single market.

"The EU and the UK agreed on the Protocol together. We are also bound to implement it together," Sefcovic said in a written statement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson meanwhile defended the government's handling of post-Brexit rules after the letters were sent.

"I think what I would say to our friends in Brussels is very simple – the protocol is there to uphold and to guarantee, to buttress the Good Friday Agreement," Johnson was cited as saying by the Press Association (PA).

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