Opens two more sanctions files for violating sanitary and phytosanitary regulations of the Northern Ireland Protocol
The European Commission on Wednesday reactivated the infringement procedure it started in March last year against the British government for breaching the Brexit agreement by failing to apply the Northern Ireland protocol, meaning in practice that it will be given two months to return to the law that unilaterally breaks the pact or will bring the matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
«There is no doubt that there is no legal or political justification for unilaterally changing an international agreement (…). It’s illegal. It is also extremely damaging to mutual trust,” Maros Sefcovic, vice president of the Community Executive responsible for relations with the United Kingdom, said at a press conference to explain the EU’s legal action.
However, the community politician has invoked negotiations to seek consensual solutions and avoided specifying whether Brussels is considering other retaliatory measures, such as imposing tariffs on UK trade if non-compliance persists.
“Of course nothing can be ruled out if this bill becomes law. But we are not there, two partners have to go to the negotiations and find a common point that will benefit the Northern Irish,” he settled the matter.
With regard to the sanction file, Sefcovic recalled that months after the start of processing, Brussels put it aside with the aim of finding a negotiated solution to the differences, the common thread being that the content of the agreement will not be renegotiated, but the lack of progress and the new British law has led community services to reactivate the legal route.
Therefore, the Community legal services have now sent a reasoned opinion to the UK authorities, the second stage of an infringement procedure, giving the UK two months to rectify the situation and warning that, otherwise, Brussels bring the matter before the European Justice, whose jurisdiction is also contested by London.
This case specifically denounces the non-compliance with the provisions on the movement of goods and the transport of applicable pets.
The European Union believes that failure to comply with the safeguards provided to prevent a return to a physical border in Ulster is a “violation of international law”, as the Withdrawal Agreement setting the conditions for divorce international treaty.
But the Commission has also decided to open two other files against the Boris Johnson government for failing to fulfill its obligations with regard to the European Union’s sanitary and phytosanitary rules provided for in the protocol, one of the conditions set by the British so that Northern Ireland can continue to participate in the European single market.
The European Union believes that failure to comply with the safeguards provided to prevent a return to a physical border in Ulster is a “violation of international law”, as the Withdrawal Agreement setting the conditions for divorce international treaty.
In the eyes of the Twenty-seven, the United Kingdom plans to unilaterally define the conditions for access to the internal market with its latest law” and this is “unthinkable and unacceptable”, warned Sefcovic, who has insisted that there are still there is room for consensual solutions, provided that the United Kingdom also agrees to negotiate.
In this way, the Vice-President of the Community has clung to the latest offer of agreement presented by European negotiators last autumn to make the application of the protocol’s rules “more flexible” and avoid practical problems that Northern Irish businesses and citizens have been discovered it was Brexit.
Sefcovic has urged to recall that it took “more than four years” to reach an agreement between the parties, which was later “signed and ratified” by both, and that the outcome of the negotiations was “the best solution.” that could be found” for respecting the three red lines, which refer to the need to protect the Good Friday peace accords, to prevent the security forces between the two Ireland from returning to a physical border with security forces and to functioning of the internal market.
“We are ready to demonstrate that the protocol offers sufficient legal scope for a fluid application, without invasive controls,” assured the community politician, who also regretted that at the time of the negotiations to make the protocol more flexible, London had not made a proposal ” seriously” to reach agreement.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
