The European Commission (EC) has launched legal proceedings against the UK for breach of the Brexit agreement. This is stated in the EC statement published on the website.
Thus, the EU plans to sue Britain, since she does not act according to the rules of the treaty. In particular, the United Kingdom has violated key provisions of the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as the “good faith obligation under the EU exit agreement”.
London was given a month to respond and to begin bilateral consultations in a joint committee. If the problem is not resolved, the EU can submit the dispute to binding arbitration. As a result, this may lead to the imposition of financial sanctions against the UK.
According to the trade agreement concluded in December last year between the EU and the UK, Northern Ireland, which left the union as part of the United Kingdom, remained part of the EU customs territory. This status required the introduction of control procedures for the transport of certain goods to Northern Ireland from other parts of Britain.
However, at the beginning of March, London extended until October 1 the grace period that applies to a number of British products supplied to Northern Ireland. This period allowed UK suppliers to avoid issuing customs phytosanitary certificates. At the same time, the agreement with the EU assumed that the grace period would last until April 1. Brussels criticized London and accused it of violating the terms of the Brexit agreement.
The UK officially left the European Union on February 1, 2020. By the end of this year, the parties agreed on a transitional period, during which most of the laws of the European Union will continue to operate.