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“The European Commission decided this morning to send a notification to the British Government and this is the first step in an infringement procedure” against the United Kingdom, announced the president of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, in a statement to the press in Brussels .
Brussels thus moves from the threat to take legal action after having set a deadline until the end of September for London to withdraw the most controversial parts of this bill, which did not happen.
In the interpretation of the Community executive, the United Kingdom is in breach of its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and international law.
On Tuesday, British MPs passed this controversial bill by 340 votes in favor and 256 against, ending the process in the House of Commons and paving the way for consideration by the House of Lords (upper house of parliament). ) In the next weeks.
With the aim of replacing European rules with rules for trade between the different regions of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) after leaving the EU, the legislation gives the British executive powers to ignore clauses that are found in the Awake.
Issues such as the filing of export declarations or customs controls between the British province of Northern Ireland and Great Britain, the island where England, Scotland and Wales meet, are at stake.
“As you know, we asked our British friends to remove the problematic parts of the Internal Market Bill by the end of September. This proposed law, by its nature, violates the principle of good faith explained in the Withdrawal Agreement and, if adopted in its current form, will be in total contradiction with the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol ”, justified Ursula von der Leyen.
“Formal notification [hoje enviada] invites the British Government to make its positions known within a month and, furthermore, the Commission will continue to work hard for the full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement ”, he added. “We respect our commitments.”
According to the Commission, Article 5 of the Withdrawal Agreement establishes that “the European Union and the United Kingdom will take all appropriate measures to ensure compliance with the obligations arising from the Withdrawal Agreement and will refrain from taking any measure that may endanger the achievement of these objectives. Both parties are bound by the obligation to cooperate in good faith in the fulfillment of the missions derived from the Withdrawal Agreement. ”
The Withdrawal Agreement also establishes that, during the transitional period, “the Court of Justice of the European Union is competent and the Commission has the competences conferred on it by Union law in relation to the United Kingdom, in particular with regard to interpretation and application of said Agreement “.
C / the day after tomorrow
