The UK government announced on Monday that it is again extending the transition periods during which traders will be exempt from European customs and product regulations if they export from the UK to Northern Ireland. The European Commission takes note of the statement of Brexit Minister David Frost, it says in its response, but stresses that it will not agree to renegotiate the agreements reached.
transitional periods –grace periodsGiving British merchants respite from meeting European requirements and regulations. Trade across the Irish Sea is already disrupted and the agreements reached under the Brexit agreement and the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol seem impossible for the British to properly comply with. That is why the government in London has been pressing for a renegotiation for some time.
Now that it has been announced that transition periods will be extended for a longer period of time, the European Commission is acting with caution. She appears to want to give every opportunity to the ongoing talks with London, but says there is no room for breaking open protocol.
We continue to emphasize that the Withdrawal Agreement is an international agreement. He said in a statement on Monday evening that the protocol is an integral part of that deal and of the solutions agreed by the UK and the EU to the problems Brexit caused for the island of Ireland. “Both parties are legally obligated to fulfill their obligations under the agreement.”
The Commission, which defends the interests of member states, says it wants to work constructively with London, “for the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland”. So there is no doubt about the new steps in the breach procedure that began when London unilaterally extended its transitional periods for the first time.
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