Brexit: EU ‘want UK to abide by obligations’ says expert

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A European Union Law expert has warned the European Union is plotting a legal threat to force the U.K. to abide by the Northern Ireland protocol. Speaking to Roundtable, Professor Stephen Weatherill, a professor of European Law at University of Oxford, explained the EU wanted to use the threat of litigation as a means to encourage a political resolution over the chaos that has unfolded in Northern Ireland. Legal action was taken by the EU against the UK in March following chaotic vaccine delays. If the legal action is successful, it could force the Government to pay out huge financial settlements in compensation for the disruption to trade caused by the Brexit deal.

The professor said: “There are two routes on the table from the Europeans Side side.

“One concerning the invocation of the arbitration process with regards to the violation of the obligation of good faith by the United Kingdom.

“And also separately to the more concrete violations of the protocol involving the UK’s failure to respect the obligations which it has undertaken in pursing the protocol. Which the commission has initiated.”

Professor Weatherill went on to explain how these procedures “are not quick” and “they will take months even years to unfold.”

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He added: “The aspiration on the EU’s side is they should become redundant because what the EU really wants is for the UK to abide by the obligations.”

These ‘obligations’ refer to what the UK has undertaken under the protocol.

Prof Weatherill said: “I think what the EU wants is to use the threat of litigation as a means to encourage a political resolution of this matter.

He added how this would involve the United Kingdom being force to “live up” to what it promised to do under the protocol.

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The protocol was agreed by the European Union and United Kingdom during the Brexit negotiations in a bid to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland in the hope it would keep trade flowing smoothly on the island and to avoid a hard border and checkpoints.

Under the agreement, Northern Ireland remained part of the EU’s Single Market.

But in January a row over coronavirus vaccine supplies prompted the EU to use the “nuclear” option of invoking Article 16.

Article 16 is part of the Protocol which governs the island’s trading arrangements with the EU and Britain and is intended to be triggered when the protocol is unexpectedly leading to serious “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.

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At the end of March, EU officials announced they would be taking U.K. government ministers to court over the Brexit deal.

Legal action was launched over the impact of trade on Northern Ireland.

If the legal action is successful it could force the Government to pay out massive financial settlements in compensation for the disruption to trade caused by the Brexit deal.

Many goods travelling from the British mainland to Northern Ireland are subject to customs checks.

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