The European Union said Monday that it is starting legal action against the United Kingdom, arguing the former member does not respect the conditions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and is violating international law.
The 27-nation EU is objecting to Britain’s unilaterally extending a grace period beyond April 1 that applies to trade on the island of Ireland, where the EU and the U.K. share a land border and where a special trade system was set up as part of the Brexit divorce deal.
“The recent measures once again set the U.K. on the path of a deliberate breach of its international law obligations and the duty of good faith that should prevail,” EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic wrote to his U.K. counterpart David Frost.
It marks a further worsening of relations between the two sides since a divorce transition period ended on Jan. 1. Disputes have ranged from fights over vaccines to the full diplomatic recognition of the EU in Britain and now again the terms of the agreement.
On March 3, the U.K. decided to unilaterally extend a grace period until October on checks for goods moving between Britain and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but remained part of the EU’s single market for goods after Brexit to avoid a hard border that could revive sectarian violence. That means that products arriving from Britain face EU import regulations.
A U.K. government spokesperson said it will respond to the EU Commission “in due course,” insisting the measures are temporary and aimed at reducing disruptions in Northern Ireland.
“They are lawful and part of a progressive and good faith implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Low key operational measures like these are well precedented and common in the early days of major international treaties. In some areas, the EU also seems to need time to implement the detail of our agreements. This is a normal process when implementing new treaties and not something that should warrant legal action.”
