Q&A: What are Britain and the EU arguing about now? 

Lorries driving off the European Highlander P&O ferry at the Port of Larne. Picture: PA

The European Union (EU) has accused the UK of breaching international law over the Northern Ireland protocol. 

It is the second time in less than a year that the EU has levelled this allegation. 

Last year the British government provoked fury and legal action over its Internal Markets bill, legislation that even some UK government ministers admitted broke international law. 

This time the accusation relates to Britain's decision to unilaterally extend the post-Brexit grace periods on trade in Northern Ireland on March 3.

This grace period covers areas such as supermarket supplies and parcel deliveries to Northern Ireland from Great Britain, and mean post-Brexit checks are not yet fully applied.

Britain has not indicated yet how it intends to enforce checks on goods entering and leaving Northern Ireland for the Single Market as set out in the protocol. 

But why has the EU decided to take this legal action and what has led to this latest development, three months after the UK-EU Brexit trade deal was signed? 

Q: What has the EU announced today in its legal action against the UK? 

In an escalation of tensions, the European Commission on Monday took the first step towards proceedings over the alleged breach of the Northern Ireland protocol.

EU Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic accused the UK Government of breaching trust and said its actions had “once again set the UK on a path of a deliberate breach of its international law obligations”.

Officials in Brussels said the UK government had effectively decided without agreement to impose an “open-ended extension” to the light-touch regulatory periods, which were due to end this month.

Mr Sefcovic told the UK that Britain “acted in breach of the mutual trust and spirit of co-operation that we manage to rebuild” towards the end of last year.

He added that the “recent measures once again set the UK on a path of a deliberate breach of its international law obligations and the duty of good faith”.

Mr Sefcovic called on the UK government to “rectify and refrain” from enacting the alleged breaches detailed on March 3 and to provide a “credible roadmap” to implementing the protocol by the end of the month.

Q: So what exactly is the EU doing? 

This morning the EU contacted the British government by two means. 

The first was a “letter of formal notice” sent to Westminster over the latest alleged breach, marking the beginning of the formal infringement process.

It requests that the UK carries out “swift remedial action to restore compliance with the terms of the protocol”.

Then after a call between London and Brussels, Mr Sefcovic sent a separate “political” letter to David Frost, the British cabinet minister who negotiated the Brexit deal.

It is the start of a two-pronged political and legal process similar to what occurred earlier in the Brexit negotiations. 

In summary, the first legal letter states the UK is in breach of EU law by not applying the checks and controls on trade goods in Northern Ireland as contained in the protocol. 

The second political letter is retaliation or a resignation to the increasingly combative dynamic now in place with the UK post-Brexit.

If not resolved soon, the legal action could end up in the European Court of Justice.

Q: What has led to this latest spat over Brexit? 

For a while now EU governments have been attempting to find a way of urging the UK to comply with its post-Brexit obligations. 

The legal action comes as EU diplomats raise the prospect of further retaliatory action over financial services, a sector barely covered in the UK-EU trade deal. 

A decision has not yet been made about the level of access British financial services will have to the Single Market. 

The abrasive unilateral decision to extend the post-Brexit grace period until October was called out today in the strong language used by the EU in a press briefing this afternoon. 

In a briefing in Brussels, an EU official accused British ministers of failing to send a timetable explaining how it would implement the protocol.

“Yet without going through the joint bodies, unilateral measures were announced on March 3 and now the European Union is confronted with an open-ended extension to certain grace periods, at least until October 1,” the official added.

“In other words, this is the second violation of international law on the same issue and we think it is an enormous problem because there are real-life issues behind all of this and the stakeholders need stability and predictability.” 

The EU official was adamant that the second alleged breach of the protocol had already happened, arguing: “Let’s be clear about what the United Kingdom is doing with these unilateral announcements.

“They are actively telling stakeholders not to apply an international agreement so yes we believe that is a violation.”

Q: What does the government think of this? 

They're not impressed to say the least with Britain's decision to extend the grace periods but have described the legal action as not a "welcome development". 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has levelled blame for the entire episode at Britain's door however. 

Writing on Twitter, Mr Coveney said: "Legal Action is not a welcome development, but approach of UK government has given EU no alternative.

"Unilaterally changing how protocol is implemented is breach of agreement. We need to get back to UK/EU cooperation, working with business in NI and focused on solving problems together."

Legal Action is not a welcome development, but approach of UK Govt has given EU no alternative. Unilaterally changing how Protocol is implemented is breach of Agreement.
We need to get back to UK/EU cooperation, working with business in NI & focused on solving problems together. https://t.co/WrWTQKAUpy

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) March 15, 2021

Q: What is the Northern Ireland protocol again? (Sorry) 

It's alright to ask. This is complicated stuff. 

The Northern Ireland Protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement was designed by the UK and EU to avoid a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland when the post-Brexit transition period ended on December 31.

Northern Ireland remained part of the EU’s single market for goods, meaning products arriving from Britain face EU import regulations.

Q: Has Britain responded yet to the EU's legal action? 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman said that the measures taken are “temporary operational steps intended to minimise disruption in Northern Ireland”.

He said the UK remains committed to the protocol, “but there are issues that have emerged since the implementation of the Protocol” and that work is being addressed through the joint committee process bringing together both sides.