The European Commission announced on Friday that it had launched four new infringement procedures against the United Kingdom, which could lead to a referral to European justice, for breach of the provisions of the post-Brexit protocol on Northern Ireland. In total, the European Executive has initiated seven procedures of this type against London for this Northern Ireland protocol, a source of tension between London and Brussels.
The Commission notes “the UK’s refusal to engage in a serious discussion since last February” as well as “the passing of the Northern Ireland Protocol (unilateral review) bill in the British Parliament.” British deputies approved this unilateral revision at first reading at the end of June, considered illegal by the European Union.
“It is disappointing that the EU has chosen to take further legal action, in particular with regard to goods leaving Northern Ireland for Britain, which clearly pose no risk to the European single market,” a British government spokesman reacted. . “Legal litigation is in no one’s interest and will not solve the problems facing people and businesses in Northern Ireland,” he added. The four new infringement procedures filed on Friday are in addition to three others announced, or relaunched for one of them, on June 15. They can lead to actions before the Court of Justice of the EU and financial penalties.
Two months to respond
The new procedures relate to the breach of customs obligations and the control of goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain (which, according to Brussels, increases the risk of smuggling across the Northern Ireland border), non-compliance with European legislation, in particular on taxes on alcohol and VAT for electronic commerce. The three previous actions referred to the non-compliance with the certification requirements for the circulation of agri-food products, obligations in terms of sanitary and phytosanitary controls, and the non-communication to the EU of certain statistical data on the trade of Northern Ireland.
The UK has two months to respond to the Commission’s letters and take steps to comply with the protocol. The Northern Ireland Protocol was negotiated between London and Brussels as part of the Divorce Treaty to address the sensitive issue of the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union. It was designed to serve a dual purpose: to protect the integrity of the European single market and to prevent the return of a land border that could undermine the peace concluded in 1998 between London, Dublin and the main political forces in Northern Ireland. .
To solve this squaring of the circle, the Boris Johnson government had accepted that Northern Ireland would remain de facto within the European market, establishing a customs border in the Irish Sea with the rest of the United Kingdom, with customs controls and procedures. This situation complicates supplies and horrifies the unionist community in Northern Ireland, thus threatening the province’s place within the United Kingdom.
However, the protocol was never fully implemented because grace periods in controls for products such as non-frozen meat or medicines were introduced and extended. Under the terms of the post-Brexit agreement, Brussels could decide in retaliation to suspend the application of certain provisions, at the risk of sparking a heated trade dispute with London.
Source: BFM TV
