The European Union has launched fresh legal action against the UK in retaliation to Boris Johnson’s plans to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland protocol.

European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic indicated further measures could soon follow. 

The UK government’s bill, tabled in the Commons on Monday evening, would allow ministers in Whitehall to unilaterally change agreed procedures on customs, food safety, VAT changes, the role of the European Court of Justice, and the application of EU regulations. 

If enacted it would, ultimately, end checks on most goods between Britain and Northern Ireland. 

At a press conference in Brussels, Mr Sefcovic said the UK Government had set out to “unilaterally break international law”.

The plan would mean “breaking an agreement that protects peace and stability in Northern Ireland, an agreement reached together only three years ago”.

Mr Sefcovic said: “Let there be no doubt: there is no legal nor political justification whatsoever for unilaterally changing an international agreement.

“Opening the door to unilaterally changing an international agreement is a breach of international law as well.

“So let’s call a spade a spade: this is illegal.”

The dispute could ultimately lead to a trade war, with tariffs or even the suspension of the entire Brexit deal between the UK and European Union.

Asked about potential further action against the UK, he told reporters in Brussels: “If this draft Bill becomes the law then I cannot exclude anything.

“But we are not there yet and we want to solve this issue as the two partners should, through negotiations, looking for the common ground and delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.”

As well as new legal action for alleged failures to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol as it stands, Brussels have restarted proceedings related to the UK’s unilateral extension of protocol grace periods. 

It was paused last year while talks took place between London and Brussels. 

The two new infringement proceedings announced on Wednesday relate to alleged UK failures around Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on agri-food produce entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain and also an alleged failure to provide the EU with data on the movement of goods across the Irish Sea.

The EU is issuing formal notices of action in respect of the two new infringement proceedings.

The bloc claims the SPS checks are not being carried out properly, with insufficient staff and infrastructure in place at the border control posts at the ports in Northern Ireland.

It says the UK is also not currently sharing the trade statistics data required under the protocol.

Mr Sefcovic insisted that he still wanted a negotiated resolution to the problems caused by the protocol.

He said he had “oven ready” proposals to resolve the majority of the difficulties.

Yesterday Liz Truss has accused the EU of overreacting to the UK Government’s plans.  

The Foreign Secretary said there was “no reason why the EU should react in a negative way to what we’re doing.”

 

She told the BBC: “I think the important point, and this is what the Prime Minister was driving at, is that it won’t make the EU any worse off. There is simply no reason for us to have a war of words about this, this is very much reasonable action we are taking.”