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The European Union threatens the United Kingdom with legal retaliation if it does not resign the bill that will modify the Brexit agreement “before the end of the month”, reports the BBC.
In a statement issued after the emergency talks between the two parties, the European Union stated that “the bill has seriously affected the relationship of trust between the Kingdom and the European Union.” The British, on the other hand, say that the Parliament of London is sovereign and that it can pass laws that violate the obligations of the treaty in which the government has bound the country.
Meanwhile, talks continue on a trade deal between the two parties in the British capital. The Europeans’ concerns are the “Internal Market Law” published on Wednesday and endorsed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The law modifies parts of the Brexit treaty signed earlier this year between the Kingdom and the EU: the protocol for Northern Ireland is modified and the ministers of the London government will have the power to change or repeal the rules on the movement of goods.
The publication of the bill led to an emergency meeting requested by the Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, with the British head of Brexit, Michael Gove.
Following talks between the two, the EU has firmly announced that the UK’s withdrawal agreement is a set of legal obligations from which neither party “may unilaterally withdraw, change, clarify, modify, interpret or cancel”. “Europeans have rejected the British argument that the law is intended to protect peace in Northern Ireland, arguing that the law does the opposite.
Sefcovic also said that if this law is passed, it will flagrantly violate international law and the withdrawal agreement. He urged the United Kingdom to stop “before the end of the month” and reminded the British that “there are legal mechanisms and ways to sanction the breaches of the obligations of each party and the European Union will not be afraid to use them.”
Editor: Adrian Dumitru
