Ursula von der Leyen announces the EU is launching legal action against the UK over Boris Johnson’s plans to override parts of the Brexit divorce deal
- President of European Commission announced start of legal action against UK
- She accused No10 of failing to act in ‘good faith’ and of breaching divorce deal
- Brussels has sent a ‘letter of formal notice’ and given No10 one month to reply
Ursula von der Leyen today announced the European Union is launching legal action against the UK over Boris Johnson’s plans to tear up parts of the Brexit divorce deal.
Brussels had given Downing Street until the end of September to scrap the Prime Minister’s controversial proposals contained within the UK Internal Market Bill.
But the UK Government refused to budge and Ms von der Leyen said this morning that as a result the bloc has now started legal proceedings.
It has sent a ‘letter of formal notice’ to Number 10 which is the first step in the so-called ‘infringement procedure’.
Speaking in Brussels she said: ‘This draft bill is by its very nature a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement.
‘More over if adopted as is it will be in full contradiction to the protocol of Ireland/Northern Ireland.
‘The deadline lapsed yesterday. The problematic provisions have not been removed.
‘Therefore this morning the Commission has decided to send the letter of formal notice to the UK Government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.
‘The letter invites the UK Government to send its observations within a month and besides this the Commission will continue to work hard towards a full and timely implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. We stand by our commitments.’
Downing Street said it ‘will respond to the letter in due course’ as it defended the approach it has taken.
‘We have clearly set out our reasons for introducing the measures related to the Northern Ireland Protocol,’ a Government spokesman said.
‘We need to create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market, ensure Ministers can always deliver on their obligations to Northern Ireland and protect the gains from the peace process.’
Ursula von er Leyen today announced the EU is launching legal action against the UK over Brexit
Mr Johnson sparked uproar last month after the Government published the Bill which would enable the UK to unilaterally decide key details relating to the Brexit divorce deal.