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Brexit: Von der Leyen announces legal action against the British

2020-10-01T09:23:58.014Z


The British are causing trouble in the Brexit negotiations with the controversial internal market law. An EU ultimatum has now expired. According to Commission chief von der Leyen, this has consequences.


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Ursula von der Leyen

Photo: Pedro Rocha / AP

The British government recently announced, surprisingly, that it would unilaterally amend the exit treaty with the EU that it passed in January.

The EU reacted indignantly and called for the plans to be withdrawn by the end of September.

This period has now passed.

This should now have consequences for Great Britain.

The European Union is taking legal action against Great Britain in the Brexit dispute for violating the EU Withdrawal Treaty.

This was announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The ultimatum set by the EU Commission expired on Wednesday, the problematic passages were not removed, said von der Leyen about the British law.

That is why the EU Commission decided to send a letter to the British government.

The Johnson administration has a month to respond.

The letter is the first step in an infringement procedure.

The EU accuses Great Britain of violating essential parts of the 2019 withdrawal agreement with the proposed law.

Because it would amount to the erosion of special rules for Northern Ireland, which are supposed to prevent a hard border with the EU member Ireland.

The British House of Commons already approved the law on Monday.

Now it has to happen to the House of Lords.

The EU recently issued an ultimatum to Great Britain to get the internal market law out of the way by the end of the month.

The procedure now is, however, a very limited escalation.

The decisive factor is that negotiations with the British on the future free trade agreement will continue this Thursday in Brussels.

The aim of Brussels is to make progress in these negotiations - and not to be influenced by other provocations.

The dispute over the internal market law is now being outsourced.    

But it is also clear that if a free trade agreement is actually reached by the end of the year, the EU would insist that the clauses of the Internal Market Act that violate the Withdrawal Treaty must be repealed.

Then the EU also has a good lever for its demand: Without the repeal of the clauses, the free trade agreement would not come into force.

The infringement procedure would probably have been settled.

After her announcement, a meeting with Ireland's new Prime Minister Micheál Martin was on the agenda for von der Leyen.

Her topic too: Brexit.

Great Britain left the EU at the end of January, but will still be part of the EU internal market and customs union until the end of the year.

To prevent a hard break with tariffs and trade barriers, the EU and Great Britain are negotiating a follow-up agreement.

The transition phase ends in three months.

Icon: The mirror

asc / MP / dpa / AFP

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-10-01

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