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The European Union has threatened to take legal action against Britain if it does not reverse a controversial plan that would break Brexit-related guarantees aimed at avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.
All 27 EU members sat down on Thursday to watch emergency talks in London after the British government acknowledged that it was prepared to violate international law and reverse aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement.
During the meeting, the EU’s Maros Sefcovic told the British that proposing the new internal market bill had “seriously damaged confidence” and that Westminster must remove the parties that violate the treaty before the end of the month.
The EU side warned that advancing the bill in its current form would be “an extremely serious violation” of the agreement and the EU “will not hesitate” to take legal action if Britain does not back down.
London has insisted that the bill is only an alternative in case a satisfactory arrangement cannot be found on how to implement the deal, which was agreed last year and ensures that Northern Ireland will remain broadly in line with the rules. from the EU and will enforce your customs code in order. to avoid the need for controls at the border with the State.
“Vice President Sefcovic … called on the UK to withdraw its legislation on the internal market. I explained to [him] that we could not and would not do that, “British Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said after the meeting.
Sovereign argument
His government issued a legal opinion that argued that its parliament was sovereign and could indeed do whatever it wanted, including the annulment of an international treaty that passed and promulgated the law less than a year earlier.
London has argued that the proposed bill protects the Belfast Accord, a claim strongly rejected by the EU, which stated that it “in fact … does the opposite.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told RTÉ that “confidence has eroded” and that he was not optimistic after Britain dragged the Northern Ireland issue back to the center of the talks.
Preparations for a no-deal Brexit are likely to accelerate in light of the British move. High-level sources say it is unclear whether the British government would observe the rest of the terms in a crisis scenario, which could mean that the question of border controls will come up again.
The British government’s plan drew international criticism and a spokesman for French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he had pushed aside his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, during a conference on Iran in London and warned him to violate the deal. it would be “unacceptable”. .
US Warning
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, warned that Congress would not pass a US-UK trade deal if Brexit jeopardized the Belfast Agreement. “Their self-determination depends on them. Our business relationships depend on us, ”he said.
The extraordinary meeting of the joint EU-UK committee, which oversees the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, was said to be quiet but tense.
Only a few weeks are left to reach an agreement on the EU’s future relations with its former member state, with enough time to enact it before a transition period ends on December 31.
Both sides said little progress was made in the latest round of talks this week in London, but agreed to continue them in Brussels later this month. “To conclude a future partnership, mutual trust is and will be necessary,” warned EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
“The EU is intensifying its preparation work to be ready for all scenarios on January 1, 2021.”
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