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The EU had accused the British of violating international law due to the Internal Market Act: the House of Lords cut the contentious passages. Now the British House of Commons has restored the clauses.
Britain’s House of Commons passed the Single Market Act, which was heavily criticized by the EU, on Monday night. MPs voted to restore various clauses that could invalidate parts of the EU Withdrawal Treaty.
A few hours before Parliament’s decision, the British government had promised a revision of the internal market law. There were “constructive” talks between British Secretary of State Michael Gove and EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on the implementation of the existing exit agreement, the government announced in London in the afternoon. If there is a final agreement in the coming days on the solutions discussed in these discussions, London will remove the controversial clauses from the Single Market Act.
The British government suggests giving in
Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Paul Scully said in the House of Commons that the government was confident of reaching an agreement with Brussels. Until then, however, the clauses should remain “in their current form” as a workaround.
The House of Commons passed the Internal Market Law in late September. In November, however, the House of Lords rejected several key passages through which regulations on Northern Ireland will be undermined in the Brexit deal. After Monday’s vote, the proposal will now go back to the House of Lords before the House of Commons finally votes on it.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to use the law to circumvent customs regulations on trade in goods for the British province of Northern Ireland and state aid requirements for British companies. His government freely admitted that the unilateral amendment to the Brexit treaty violated international law. The EU Commission launched an infringement procedure against Great Britain due to the law in early October.
Britain left the EU on February 1. However, it will remain in the EU internal market and in the customs union until the end of the year. Actually, both parties wanted to use this time to reach a trade agreement. However, the negotiations have stalled. Johnson now plans to personally travel to Brussels in the next few days to make a breakthrough.
