The EU Commission continues to insist that the British government designate a candidate for the executive committee under the leadership of Commissioner-designate Ursula von der Leyen. Because the government of Boris Johnson does not want to do that, the Commission is now taking legal action against Britain.
"As the guardian of EU treaties, the European Commission has today sent a formal notice to the UK to initiate infringement proceedings," Brussels said in a statement. The violation consists in "not proposing a candidate for the post of EU Commissioner".
The British government announced in writing on Wednesday that it would not propose an EU Commissioner before the parliamentary election on 12 December. The reason is, according to conventions in the UK, which limit the scope of a government shortly before a parliamentary election. Actually, every EU country has to be represented in the EU Commission. The new commission under Ursula von der Leyen is supposed to start on December 1st.