#launches #legal #action #Northern #Ireland
The European Commission on Friday launched four new court cases against Britain over London’s failure to implement Brexit divorce terms to regulate trade with Northern Ireland.
The Brussels trial is adding to the strain on legal cases after a year-long truce as the EU challenged an offer by the UK government to scrap parts of post-Brexit trade deals in Northern Ireland.
London called the move “disappointing”. “Litigation is in nobody’s interest and will not solve the problems facing people and businesses in Northern Ireland,” said a government spokesman.
The government will examine the EU’s arguments “and react in due course”.
The government of outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month unveiled legislation to unilaterally change trading terms for the politically strained British province.
The plan is now going through Parliament.
Earlier, the European Commission criticized the UK for failing to implement the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol “despite repeated calls” from the bloc’s parliament and the 27 member states.
“In the spirit of constructive cooperation, we have refrained from starting new internal procedures for over a year to make room to seek common solutions with the UK,” said EU spokeswoman Arianna Podesta.
“However, the UK’s unwillingness to engage meaningfully with them since last February and the UK Parliament’s continued passage of the Northern Ireland Bill directly contradict the spirit of cooperation.”
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The EU also accused the UK of “investing little time in explaining the protocol to people and businesses in Northern Ireland and not adequately preparing them for the changes brought about by Brexit”.
The EU said the new procedures target a range of violations, including failure to implement EU customs rules, increasing the likelihood of illegal products entering Europe and facilitating fraud.
The UK has also been accused of failing to implement EU alcohol taxes.
The four court cases are added to existing cases which also target commercial matters on the island of Ireland.
In one of those cases, which involved food imports, the EU warned on Friday that it would take Britain to the bloc’s European Court of Justice if London failed to take the necessary action.
As part of the divorce, Brussels could also suspend parts of the EU-UK trade deal and trigger a trade war when Europe’s economy is already vulnerable due to the real war in Ukraine.
The protocol provides for controls on goods entering Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales to trace products that could potentially be transported further into the bloc’s internal market via the Republic of Ireland.
This creates a customs border along the Irish Sea, keeping Northern Ireland in the EU’s customs orbit to avoid a politically sensitive hard border between British territory and EU member Ireland.
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