Brussels has warned it will launch legal action “very soon” following a move by the UK

to unilaterally delay implementation of part of the Brexit deal relating to Northern

Ireland.
The European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, said the announcement by
the government on Wednesday had come as a “very negative surprise”.
David Frost, the Cabinet Office minister, said the UK was extending a series of “grace
periods” designed to ease trade between Northern Ireland – which remains in the EU
single market for goods – and Great Britain while permanent arrangements are worked
out.

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It provoked a furious response in Brussels, with the EU accusing Britain of going back
on its treaty obligations in the Brexit withdrawal agreement intended to ensure there is
no return of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Šefčovič - who is responsible for overseeing
the implementation of the agreement - said the European commission was now working
on “infringement proceedings” against the UK.

“We are currently preparing it and it would be really something coming to our table very
soon. The most precise term I can give you is really very soon,” he said.

His warning came after Boris Johnson had sought to play down the dispute, saying the
government was simply taking some “temporary and technical measures” to ensure that
trade kept flowing.

“I’m sure with a bit of goodwill and common sense all these technical problems are
eminently solvable,” he said on Thursday.

However MEPs in the European parliament have already taken steps to delay formal
ratification of the wider trade and cooperation agreement between Britain and the EU
pending the outcome of the latest row.

The Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement means keeping Northern
Ireland aligned to various EU rules, requiring checks on goods arriving into the region
from Great Britain.