On Monday 15 March, the European Commission confirmed its legal action against the UK over its latest decisions on the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement (see EUROPE 12670/6) and launched the first phase of an infringement proceeding.
The Commission criticises London for having unilaterally decided to extend the grace periods (of three months) provided for in the Protocol by a further six months, thereby postponing the full implementation of the customs controls provided for in the agreement between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
These grace periods were due to expire at the end of March. The Commission had said it was ready to show “flexibility” after London asked for the extension of these periods, but the British government responded with unilateral action, an EU source said on Monday, justifying the move to launch an infringement proceeding. The UK’s methods send “the wrong message” to the EU, the source said, recalling that the Protocol was negotiated and agreed by both sides.
The letter of formal notice therefore calls on the UK to take the necessary action to reverse this decision quickly as the Commission considers that London is in breach of the substantive provisions of the Protocol for Ireland and Northern Ireland and the obligation of good faith under the Withdrawal Agreement.
“This is the second time in the space of six months that the UK government is about to breach international law’, the Commission also notes in a statement, referring to the procedure launched at the end of 2020 on the UK’s Internal Market Bill, which contained contentious provisions in contradiction with the Protocol. The British government eventually withdrew them.
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, EU Co-Chair of the Joint Committee, also wrote to his UK counterpart, David Frost, on 15 March to find a joint solution within the framework of the Protocol and the Joint Committee. “I do hope that through the collaborative, pragmatic and constructive spirit that has prevailed in our work so far on implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, we can solve this issue in the Joint Committee without recourse to arbitration”, he commented.
London will have one month to respond to the formal notice. In the meantime, Mr Šefčovič calls on the UK authorities to refrain from extending these grace periods on their own and to work towards “a mutually satisfactory resolution by the end of the month”.
The spokesman for the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that the government would respond to the letter of formal notice as soon as it was received.
Link to the letter: http://bit.ly/2Op5nw5 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)