The European Commission is taking new legal action against Britain in a series of measures in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Brexit deal struck with Brussels.

The protocol effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the European single market to avoid a hard border with Ireland, meaning a trade barrier in the Irish Sea for goods crossing from Great Britain.

The commission also announced it was resuming legal proceedings against Britain shelved last year to facilitate negotiations on post-Brexit trade.

The stalled legal action relates to Britain’s unilateral extension of protocol grace periods in 2021.

Resuming the proceedings, the EU is issuing London with a “reasoned opinion” and giving it two months to respond.

If Britain does not respond to the bloc’s satisfaction, it will refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. 

(PA Media/dpa/NAN)