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Brussels told Britain on Thursday to immediately scrap its plans to overturn Britain’s Brexit treaty or face legal action, in a sharp escalation of the two sides’ dispute over the measures.
In a terse statement, the European Commission gave Britain a deadline of the end of September to withdraw its planned internal market bill. She warned that the bill was a threat to the Good Friday Agreement and said it had “seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK.”
In a written “legal position”, also published on Thursday, the UK admitted that the bill creates powers that could “be exercised in a way that is incompatible with the provisions of the withdrawal agreement.”
But the legal analysis also stated: “Parliament is sovereign as a matter of domestic law and can pass laws that violate the obligations of the UK Treaty.”
EU officials were taken aback by the claim. “They’ve been reading too much Kafka at issue 10,” said one.
The public statements came as the latest round of trade talks concluded in London and followed an emergency meeting of the joint EU-UK committee overseeing the Brexit deal agreed last year.
Brussels called the meeting after the UK government’s shocking decision to violate international law by using parliament to override parts of the protocol on Northern Ireland enshrined in the UK withdrawal agreement.
The protocol resolved the long-standing deadlock between the two sides on how to avoid a tough trade border on the island of Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland close to the EU customs union while still in the Kingdom’s customs territory. United.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s lead representative on the joint committee, laid bare Brussels’ deep concerns about the violation of the Northern Ireland protocol, warning that the future of trade talks with the UK was at stake.
Sefcovic called on the UK government to “withdraw these measures from the bill in the shortest time possible and, in any case, before the end of the month.”
It claimed that the move had “seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK.” The commission statement added that it is now “up to the UK government to restore that trust.”
EU diplomats stressed that Brussels has no intention of immediately shutting down talks on future relations, saying it would amount to falling into a trap set by the UK. But officials said the eighth round of talks had made little progress.
“If the UK doesn’t want a deal, it should say so,” said a diplomat. “We are working calmly and patiently to reach an agreement.”
The EU’s rejection of Britain’s position on the internal market bill has unleashed a storm of criticism over the legislative plans.
On Thursday, former Conservative party leader Michael Howard joined former Conservative Prime Ministers John Major and Theresa May in accusing the government of tarnishing Britain’s international reputation, while tensions over the bill led to the lawyer’s resignation. most important government on Tuesday.
Brussels rejected the arguments made by UK ministers that the plans were a necessary safeguard to preserve the peace process in Northern Ireland.
“The EU does not accept the argument that the aim of the bill is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement,” the commission said. “In fact, she thinks it does the opposite.”
The commission also said the UK faced legal action if it did not comply, adding that Mr Sefcovic “reminded the UK government that the withdrawal agreement contains a number of legal mechanisms and remedies to address violations of legal obligations. contained in the text, which the European Union will not hesitate to use ”.
An internal analysis paper by the EU commission, seen by the Financial Times, warns that, even just by introducing the bill, Britain was “in violation of the obligation of good faith” enshrined in its Brexit treaty.
The commission’s document looks at Brussels’ options for action under the treaty, including bringing the country before the European Union Court of Justice or initiating arbitration, either of which could end in fines.
Michael Gove, the UK cabinet minister, tried to reassure Sefcovic at Thursday’s meeting that the plans were intended to be a safeguard and that Britain was “absolutely committed” to the Northern Ireland protocol.
The bill would give ministers powers to intervene on matters including the application of EU state aid rules in Northern Ireland and the need for export declarations for goods shipped from the province to Britain.
But EU officials responded that the measures would bypass the treaty’s clear commitments, undermining a painstakingly constructed agreement aimed at keeping trade flowing on the island of Ireland no matter what happens in future EU-UK negotiations.
