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#Brexit - Šefcovic calls extraordinary meeting on UK proposal to flout Withdrawal Agreement

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The European Union has requested an extraordinary meeting with the UK to express the EU’s strong concerns and to seek assurances from the British government that they fully intend to comply with the Withdrawal Agreement that they signed last year and ratified in January.

The call came after the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis told the UK parliament that the Internal Market Bill would break international law, “in a very specific and limited way”. The answer was in a response to a question about whether the UK would respect the rule of law and the provisions of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol in its forthcoming Internal Market Bill.

Vice-President Maroš Šefcovic who co-chairs the EU-UK joint committee to implement the withdrawal agreement, that implements and applies the protocol said that he had spoken with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster yesterday (8 September) evening. In the light of these discussions the EU has called for an extraordinary meeting of the Joint Committee.

Šefcovic said the new bill would be on the agenda. He added that the European Commission president would react once the bill emerged later in the afternoon. He said he believed that the joint committee would be the most appropriate venue for further discussion.

President von der Leyen tweeted later in the afternoon: “Very concerned about announcements from the British government on its intentions to breach the Withdrawal Agreement. This would break international law and undermines trust. Pacta sunt servanda = the foundation of prosperous future relations.”

The statement by Lewis was met with widespread condemnation. Richard Neal, Chairman of the prestigious Ways and Means Committee in the US Congress which oversees trade agreements said: “I urge both sides to uphold the terms of this joint agreement, particularly with respect to the treatment of Northern Ireland, in accordance with international law [...] I sincerely hope the British government upholds the rule of law and delivers on the commitments it made during the Brexit negotiations, particularly in regard to the Irish border protocols.”

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The UK also released a statement on its intention to follow WTO rules on state subsidies at the end of the transition period in December. The UK intends to establish a new subsidy control regime, without a trace of irony, the UK suggests that this will mean that competition across the UK is not unduly distorted, which demonstrated their understanding of the need for level playing field provisions, like those being insisted on by the European Union - if only, within the UK.

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