Breach of the Brexit agreement: the European Union launches two proceedings against London

The European Commission announced on Monday that it had launched two proceedings for violating the Brexit agreement against the United Kingdom, after London decided to unilaterally postpone certain customs controls in Northern Ireland.

The British government announced on March 3 a six-month postponement - until October 1 - of some controversial checks on the arrival of goods in Northern Ireland from the island of Great Britain.

Read also: Brexit: London postpones full implementation of import controls to 2022

The Commission, which had already officially protested, announced in a press release that it had sent "

a letter of formal notice

" to London for having violated the protocol specific to the island of Ireland, contained in the withdrawal treaty signed at the end of 2019, according to a press release.

Protect the European single market

This protocol is intended to protect the single European market while avoiding the return of a border and customs controls on the island, shared between the British territory of Northern Ireland and Ireland, a member of the EU.

Sending this letter is the first step in an "

infringement procedure

", which may end at the end of a long process before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which may impose fines or periodic penalty payments.

Brussels gave the UK one month to send its comments.

On the other hand, the Vice-President of the Commission, Maros Sefcovic, addressed a “

political letter

” to David Frost, in charge of relations with Brussels within the British government, calling on the United Kingdom to reverse this announcement.

Read also: After Brexit, 30% drop in German exports to the United Kingdom

This letter denounces the non-respect of the obligation of good faith provided for by the withdrawal treaty.

Mr Sefcovic asks London to engage in bilateral consultations with Brussels "

with the aim of finding a mutually agreed solution by the end of the month

".

Confidence at half mast

“

The EU and UK have agreed to the (Northern Ireland specific) protocol together.

We are required to implement it together.

Unilateral decisions and breaches of international law by the UK defeat the very purpose (of the protocol) and undermine trust between us,

”Sefcovic said, quoted in the statement.

"

This is the second time in six months that the British government is preparing to violate international law

," said a European official.

Last year, Boris Johnson's government threatened to pass a bill flouting the Northern Ireland protocol, before backing down in the face of European protests.

The episode, however, damaged the confidence of Europeans.

The procedure launched on Monday “

is not welcome, but the British government's approach leaves no alternative to the EU.

Unilaterally changing the way the protocol is implemented is a violation of the agreement,

”commented Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.

The British government for its part has constantly claimed not to have violated the Brexit treaty by temporarily waiving customs controls.

"

These types of operational measures have many precedents and are common in other international trade agreements

," Johnson said in early March.

London said Monday it had "

not received an official notification from the EU

."

"

When we receive the letter from the EU, we will of course study its content and respond to it in due course,

" commented a government spokesperson.

Read also: United Kingdom: after Brexit and Covid, labor shortages could slow down the recovery

A sign of the exasperation that is mounting in Brussels, the European Parliament gave up on Thursday to set a date for the ratification of the post-Brexit trade agreement.

"

If the United Kingdom does not respect the previous agreement (the withdrawal treaty), what is the sense of ratifying the one on the table,

" the co-chairman of the Greens group in Parliament told AFP European, Philippe Lamberts.