EU Takes Legal Action Against UK Over Planned Brexit Bill

The European Union has launched a legal case against the United Kingdom on Thursday over its plans to pass legislation that would breach parts of the legally binding Brexit agreement the two sides reached late last year.

Johnson risked proposing legislation that would repeal parts of the EU Withdrawal Agreement that would conflict with international law.

The President of the European Commission in Brussels said that the Commission decided to send an official letter of notification to the UK government, “in a first step for legal procedures.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the British plan “by its very nature is a breach of the obligation of good faith laid down in the Withdrawal Agreement.”

“If adopted as is, it will be in full contradiction to the protocol of Ireland-Northern Ireland“ in the withdrawal agreement,” she said.

Ursula von der Leyen added that this step is not of immediate results, but it highlights that the increasing tensions as trade negotiations enter a critical stage.

This comes amid the European Union protests that the UK Internal Market Law violates the terms of the Brexit agreement.

The EU-UK trade negotiating session is supposed to wrap up Friday but expectations are that negotiations will continue right up to an Oct. 15-16 EU summit, which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set as a deadline for a deal. The EU said talks could continue right up to the end of the month.