The European Union will be pressing charges against the United Kingdom for planning to override the earlier withdrawal agreement after a September deadline lapsed on Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday they have given the UK until the end of September to remove the controversial provisions on the Internal Market Bill presented by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month.
“The deadline lapsed yesterday. The problematic provisions have not been removed. Therefore, this morning, the Commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
The European Commission President said giving the formal notice is the first step in an infringement procedure as the letter invites the UK government to send its observations within a month.
The draft bill laid out last month, according to the European Union official, is a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement
Von der Leyen said that the Internal Market Bill if adopted will be in “full contradiction” to the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland.
She also said the EU Commission will continue to work hard towards full and timely implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The UK’s post-Brexit strategy went under fire early September after the government admitted the new measure breaks international law as the Internal Market Bill overwrites the Withdrawal Agreement signed by the Prime Minister with the European Union in January.
Johnson told parliament the government would “in a very specific and limited way” break international law. Britain has formally quit the EU in January with the signing of the Withdrawal Agreement but has since remained part of the 27-member bloc’s single market while a status quo is in effect until December.
The U.K. has also been negotiating with European Union ministers for a trade deal that would then take effect next year but this has since stalled due to the ongoing tensions and disagreements between parties.
The controversial bill seeks to distribute powers from the EU to the UK including administrations of devolved states Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
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