BRUSSELS – The European Commission has announced it will freeze two separate lawsuits against the UK “at the time of writing” in hopes of continuing “constructive talks” with London on trade deals with Ireland del Norte.
After the UK government unilaterally delayed conducting post-Brexit inspections on some items entering Northern Ireland from the UK, Brussels launched a 2-front lawsuit against London in March. The dispute concerns the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is part of the 2019 Brexit deal between the two parties. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that the deal was “untenable” and called for renegotiations: the president of the European Commission instantly rejected Ursula von der Leyen.
Although the continuation of the agreement will not be renegotiated, a representative of the European Commission said on Wednesday that Brussels was open to the recommendations of the British command file published the previous week and “will consider any initiative that respects the principles of the OK”. “With this in mind, the EU will support the UK’s call to ‘stop’ the applications against London.
The spokesperson said: “We must continue constructive discussions in the coming weeks.” “With regard to the suspension request, the committee will carefully consider the UK’s novel proposal in accordance with the necessary internal consultation procedures and the development of the request with the European Parliament.”
The spokesperson added: “In order to create the necessary space to think about these issues and locate a persistent solution for the implementation of the protocol, we decided not to start the next phase of the infringement procedure at this stage, starting in March. . “
The infringement procedure pertains to the 2 actions brought against the United Kingdom by Brussels in the third month of the year. The representative said that the committee will also suspend the second legal action admissible under the Withdrawal Agreement. If pursued, “it will lead to methods of dispute resolution.” If these two legal processes are completed, they could lead the EU to impose tariffs on British goods.
A representative of the British government confirmed that London “has received a constructive response from the European Commission to our request to suspend the existing pacts”, adding: “We hope to negotiate with the EU in the coming weeks to transform the proposal into making our request.” . As we noted in last week’s duty file, major changes have to be made to ensure the deal remains viable going forward. “
In Dublin, a representative of the Irish government welcomed the committee’s resolution, calling it “a real gesture of good intention”.
“As the UK has taken unilateral steps to prevent or postpone the implementation of parts of the protocol, the Commission is within its right to take legal action, but the Commission at this point should make more room for edifying negotiations before the period expires. grace extended. End of September It is suspected. Only nine weeks passed. The relocation of the board did not generate more time in the difficult times. But that should progress somewhat in the context of these essential assemblies. “
However, the main Brexit MEP in the European Parliament showed a lackluster response to the British initiative the week before. Rather than questioning the protocol, we urge the UK government to be pragmatic and pragmatic, as the EU has done so far, and to continue to work with the EU to achieve workable and practical resolutions for people and companies in the EU. Island. Today’s legal framework, ”the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister, and the chairman of the Trade Committee, Bernd Langer, said in a notice.
Shawn Pogatchnik and Esther Webber reported.
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