COM Threatens Infringement Proceedings, Trade Action On NI Protocol Bill

The EU is set to launch a legal challenge to the UK's recently-presented Northern Ireland Protocol bill in the form of re-launched infringement proceedings against Westminster. Politico outlines this as one of the three potential responses to the bill, alongside the outlining of its proposed model for the “flexible implementation of the protocol, based on durable solutions within the protocol,” in line with the Commission's October 2021 proposal. The third potential action would be the most extreme: the launching of trade action against the UK.

• European Commission Exec VP Maros Sefcovic's statement on the NI Protocol bill can be seen here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail... , and within he asks if the UK “recalls that the conclusion of the Withdrawal Agreement was a pre-condition for the negotiation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement,”
• The Commission is set to outline its plans in more detail at the EU ambassadors Coreper II meeting on Wednesday.
• The likelihood is that in the short term, while the bill goes through parliament, the EU utilises the first two options; launching infringement proceedings against the UK and further outlining how the protocol could be flexible.
• The full force of trade sanctions would likely come into play once the bill reaches the final stages of approval or is fully enacted on the UK statute books (a process that could take several months and up to a year).