Top European Union officials on Thursday pledged to take all available measures to ensure the UK adheres to the terms of its Brexit deal with the bloc as tensions mount over trade with Northern Ireland
“It is of the utmost importance to implement what we have decided. This is a rule of law issue, ”said European Council President Charles Michel. “We will use all the instruments at our disposal to ensure that we defend our interests and protect the integrity of the internal market.”
To defuse the dispute, Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will hold talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of a summit meeting of the group of the seven great powers in England.
The dispute revolves around provisions of the Brexit deal, which essentially created a regulatory border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. This has angered many pro-British residents of the Territory, who oppose anything that threatens their status as part of the UK
The “Northern Ireland Protocol” was supposed to keep the peace there by ensuring that trade with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state, continued unhindered after Britain left the bloc. The protocol requires the UK to review certain goods coming into the region from other parts of the UK
Earlier this year the UK unilaterally postponed some of these inspections, saying it needed more time to put the right systems in place. The EU threatened legal action for a breach of the UK’s international obligations. The UK government is now considering further delays.
Von der Leyen told reporters that the EU has “shown flexibility, we will show flexibility, but the protocol and the (Brexit) exit agreement must be fully implemented”.
She said the EU is “determined to do everything possible to maintain peace and stability on the island of Ireland. It is important that the protocol is deeply respected, that we protect it. “
Von der Leyen said the bloc would not hesitate to take the remedial action envisaged in the Brexit deal, including referring the dispute to arbitration that could hit the UK with financial sanctions or by imposing punitive tariffs on imports of goods from the UK imposed.
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