European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic believes the UK has seriously damaged trust between London and Brussels by putting forward its Internal Market Bill that may contradict the 2019 Withdrawal Agreement, the EU body said on Thursday in a press release after an extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2020) European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic believes the UK has seriously damaged trust between London and Brussels by putting forward its Internal Market Bill that may contradict the 2019 Withdrawal Agreement, the EU body said on Thursday in a press release after an extraordinary meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee.
The draft bill, introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the UK parliament on Wednesday, seeks to ensure barrier-free trade between the United Kingdom's four constituent nations. According to the European Commission, if adopted as proposed, the document would violate substantive provisions of the Brexit Deal's Northern Ireland Protocol on custom legislation and state aid and have the direct effect of the Withdrawal Agreement.
"Vice-President Maros Sefcovic called on the UK government to withdraw these measures from the draft Bill in the shortest time possible and in any case by the end of the month. He stated that by putting forward this Bill, the UK has seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK. It is now up to the UK government to re-establish that trust," the press release said.
In addition, the official recalled that the Brexit deal contained "a number of mechanisms and legal remedies to address violations of the legal obligations contained in the text - which the European Union will not be shy in using."
Earlier this week, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the parliament that the proposed bill would "break international law in a very specific and limited way" by amending the Brexit deal with the EU and removing its precedence on state aid and customs checks.
