The EU has begun legal proceedings against the UK after it published legislation that would override the parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Maros Sefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission, said the plan to tear up the agreement, which governs Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements, was illegal.
The commission confirmed that Brussels will resume legal proceedings against the UK, which it suspended in September, for breaching the EU withdrawal treaty agreed in 2020.
Mr Sefcovic said: “Let there be no doubt: there is no legal nor political justification whatsoever for unilaterally changing an international agreement.
“This is illegal. The UK bill is extremely damaging to mutual trust and respect between the EU and the UK.
“It has created deep uncertainty and casts a shadow over our international cooperation.”
