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Thursday, 10 September 2020_Just one day after Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, expressed strong support for a controversial new bill, the European Union (EU) has denounced the draft legislation as a “clear breach” of the 2019 Brexit withdrawal deal.
In a highly unusually move, the EU has also demanded the bill to be “scrapped” by the end of the month.
The strong intervention by the EU follows emergency talks in London today (September 10) between European Commission vice-president, Maros Sefcovic, and UK cabinet minister, Michael Gove.
In a statement after the conclusion of emergency talks, the EU claimed the bill “seriously damaged trust between the EU and the UK”.
The EU appears to have identified the Internal Market Bill (IMB) as a potentially mortal threat to the Brexit treaty (negotiated last year) and is unequivocally calling for its removal.
The IMB takes a swipe at the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, an element of the withdrawal agreement designed to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The bill proposes no new checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to mainland Britain.
Additionally, it gives British ministers new powers to modify or “disapply established rules relating to the movement of goods that will come into force from January 01, in the event that the UK and EU are unable to negotiate a lasting trade deal.
However, despite the growing tensions, both sides have agreed to continue trade talks in London.
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