BREXIT: EU Launches a fresh round of action against the UK

The action against the UK is in response to their moves to rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.  The proposed UK bill seeks to remove customs checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

The proposed bill will override parts of the trade treaty that the EU signed with Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, just two years ago. 

The action had originally been put on hold in September 2021 as both parties tried to find a joint solution to resolve the issue.

The EU will add further action against the UK for a perceived failure to carry out necessary controls under the EU rules, required under the protocol.

In the final stages of an infringement procedure, which can last for months, the European Commission can refer such cases to the bloc’s highest court. The European Court of Justice has jurisdiction to rule on matters of EU law in Northern Ireland.

When Britain left the EU and its borderless free-trade zone, the two sides agreed to keep the Irish land border free of customs posts and other checks because an open border is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland.