The EU Commission has announced plans to take the UK to court over controversial plans to break international law.
Ursula Von Der Leyen said that Brussels was beginning infringement actions against the UK over breaches of the good faith clauses of the the Withdrawal Agreement struck by Boris Johnson.
But Mr Johnson has signalled he could tear up elements of that agreement relating to Northern Ireland in the UK Internal Market Bill, which cleared the Commons this week.
Ministers have admitted that the plan would breach international law – sending shockwaves through the the UK’s negotiations with Brussels.
The European Union had called for the UK to withdraw the elements of the legislation by the end of September.
But Mr Johnson failed to change tack in light of Ms Von Der Leyen’s warning and the Bill cleared the House of Commons earlier this week.
The European Commission chief confirmed that it will send a letter of formal notice to the UK for breaching the terms of its withdrawal agreement with the European Union. They have said the UK has one month to reply.
Therefore this morning the commission have decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK Government. This is the first step in an infringement procedure.
The letter is the first step in a legal process that could result in a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice. But it is a common tool the EU regularly use against member states – last year alone there were 800 open cases across member states.