The European Parliament will vote against a potential trade deal between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) if the British fail to comply with the Withdrawal Agreement. That is what six of the seven European groups say on Friday a joint statement. The EU body must agree before any trade agreement can be implemented.
Earlier this week, the British’s compliance with the divorce deal came into question after the British government presented a bill. In the so-called UK Internal Market Bill sets out how the countries in the UK will act after the end of the transition period.
The bill states, among other things, that goods can move back and forth between Great Britain and Northern Ireland without any problems, which is at odds with the agreements in the withdrawal agreement. The British minister of Northern Ireland confessed on Tuesday that the bill violates international law “very specifically and minimally”.
The bill went wrong with the EU, because the agreements in the withdrawal agreement are less than a year old and have been difficult to negotiate for four years. The political groups of the European Parliament mention the UK Internal Market Bill “a serious and unacceptable violation of international law”. The EU has now asked the UK to disregard the bill before the end of September, otherwise legal action may follow.
Meanwhile, negotiations on a trade deal continued this week, but the EP warns of the consequences of the bill. “It damages the confidence and credibility of the British, an essential part of any kind of negotiation,” said the Parliament groups. Negotiations between both parties are still deadlocked.
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