The European Commission today launched four new infringement procedures against the United Kingdom for failing to comply with significant parts of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit agreement.
This is according to a statement from the European Commission.
Despite repeated calls from the European Parliament, the 27 EU member states and the European Commission to implement the Protocol, the UK government has failed to do so.
The procedures were launched in addition to those already launched on June 15.
"In the spirit of constructive cooperation, the European Commission has refrained for more than a year from launching certain violation procedures in order to create space to find joint solutions with the UK. However, the United Kingdom's unwillingness to engage in meaningful discussion since last February and the continued passage of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill by the United Kingdom Parliament directly contradict this spirit," the European Commission said.
As noted, the purpose of these infringement procedures is to ensure compliance with the Protocol in a number of key areas. This compliance is essential for Northern Ireland to continue to enjoy its privileged access to the Single European Market and is necessary to protect the health, safety and security of EU citizens as well as the integrity of the Single Market.
Procedures were triggered because of a failure to comply with relevant customs, surveillance and risk control requirements for the movement of goods from Northern Ireland to the UK; a failure to transpose EU legislation that establishes common EU excise duty rules, which will take effect on 13 February 2023; a failure to transpose EU excise duty rules on alcohol and spirits that facilitate small producers' access to lower excise duty rates; a failure to comply with EU Good Tax rules
If the British government does not respond within two months, the Commission will consider further steps.
Recall that the British government has released a plan of changes to the EU withdrawal agreement, approved in 2020, to solve the problem of movement of goods to Northern Ireland.
The changes will address four aspects: "a complex clearance process, inflexible regulations, inconsistencies in taxation and spending, and democratic governance."
The British government argues that the Northern Ireland Protocol has failed to address these problems, and they in turn undermine the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended the civil war in Northern Ireland.
The EU has previously stressed that unilaterally changing the Brexit arrangements is a violation of international law. At the same time, London insists that the changes mean the unity of the United Kingdom.