The European Union (EU) is preparing to take legal action against the British government for unilaterally exempting itself from the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
The European Union (EU) has given the UK one month to remove the controversial provisions of the Domestic Trade Bill, which empowers the government to withdraw from the agreement.
The European Commission has decided to take legal action if the violation is not rectified within this time period.
The UK had earlier been asked to remove the controversial terms but did not do so. It was in this context that the official notice was issued.
Britain was asked to remove the harmful provisions of the bill by the end of September, and that deadline expired yesterday. That is why legal action is being taken.
The UK government has already admitted that the bill violates international law.
Ursula von Der Lane, president of the European Commission, said in a letter that the commission had violated Articles 4 and 5 on the good faith of the withdrawal agreement.
The bill violates the obligation to maintain good faith, which is the basis of the withdrawal agreement. If the bill becomes law, it will be a violation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the commission president said.
The letter asked for a reply within a month, the president said. “This is the first step in the process,” she said.
At the same time, it is known that the cabinet of President von Der Lane and the Marosefovic cabinet coordinated its contents after several corrections. Marosefovic is a representative of the European Commission on the European Union-UK Joint Committee, which oversees the implementation of the withdrawal agreement.
Meanwhile, President von Der Lane discussed the issue with Prime Minister Michael Martin, who is in Brussels for a two-day summit.
The possibility of a free trade agreement between the European Union and the UK in the coming weeks was also discussed. Prime Minister Michael Martin said Ireland fully supported the commission’s actions.
The Prime Minister also expressed concern that a free trade agreement between the European Union and the UK was still possible but doubted whether today’s legal action would weaken the possibility of negotiations.
He said they would discuss how the European Union would deal with Brexit in the coming weeks.
The agreement is convinced of the need to reach an agreement with the UK to form a comprehensive future relationship. He added that it would benefit Europe, the UK and Ireland.
Prime Minister Martin will speak at today’s summit on the implications of Brexit. Martin took to Twitter to say that Covid had discussed the recovery fund and Brexit with von der Lane.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in an online interview that the European Union could reach a tariff-free quota free deal with Britain.