EU tells UK to amend Internal Market Bill or face Brexit consequences

The EU has called on the U.K. government to withdraw certain measures of its draft Internal Market Bill “in the shortest time possible and in any case by the end of the month,” warning it has a “number of mechanisms and legal remedies” to address “violations” of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

U.K. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič met in emergency talks in London Thursday after Brussels responded with outrage and alarm to Boris Johnson’s attempts to “break international law in a very specific and limited way” and “clarify” parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement on the Northern Ireland protocol and state aid through provisions in the bill.

“The European Union expects the letter and spirit of this Agreement to be fully respected,” Šefčovič said in a statement afterward. “Violating the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement would break international law, undermine trust and put at risk the ongoing future relationship negotiations.”

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The EU also said it “does not accept the argument [by the U.K.] that the aim of the draft Bill is to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement. In fact, it is of the view that it does the opposite.”

If the U.K. doesn’t apply the Withdrawal Agreement, that would put the ongoing negotiations on the future relationship at risk and lead to legal action from Brussels, Brussels threatened.

According to the statement, Šefčovič reminded the U.K. government that “the Withdrawal Agreement contains a number of mechanisms and legal remedies to address violations of the legal obligations contained in the text — which the European Union will not be shy in using.”