The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has said that legal action is imminent over the UK’s move to unilaterally extend grace periods on Irish Sea border checks.
On Thursday 4 March, the UK government extended another of the Irish Sea border grace periods, this time for parcels. It came a day after the UK extended grace periods for checks on agri-foods, a move the EU said was illegal.
Maroš Šefčovič told the Financial Times that “infringement proceedings” are being prepared.
He said: “We are currently preparing it and it would be really something coming to our table very soon.”
The EU has two legal avenues open to it under the Brexit deals.
Under the NI part of the Brexit deal, the Protocol, it can launch infringement proceedings which could lead to a case at the European Court of Justice. It took this action at the time when the UK threatened to breach the NI deal through the Internal Market Bill. In that case the legal proceedings were overtaken by political agreement.
The EU could also seek arbitration under the terms of the wider EU-UK trade deal.
Northern Ireland has remained a part of the EU’s single market for goods so products arriving from GB undergo EU import procedures.
The grace periods mean procedures and checks are not yet fully applied. The first of these periods was to expire at the end of March; the UK says they will be extended until October.
All parcels entering Northern Ireland would have required customs declarations from 1 April. The logistics industry said it was not ready to deal with that volume of new administration. The government says the grace period for business-to-business deliveries will be extended until 1 October. For all other deliveries, for example businesses to consumers, businesses will be given six months to prepare for new arrangements from the date those arrangements are announced.
To read the updated information on sending parcels to Northern Ireland visit gov.uk.
Source: BBC News