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EU receives UK’s response to legal threats over Northern Ireland Protocol row

The bloc had requested a response to its raft of infringement proceedings over the UK’s failure to comply with the rules before the end of the day.

Sam Blewett
Thursday 15 September 2022 11:36 BST
An anti-Protocol sign close to Larne Port (Liam McBurney/PA)
An anti-Protocol sign close to Larne Port (Liam McBurney/PA) (PA Wire)

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The European Union is considering its next steps after receiving the UK’s response to legal threats over the failure to comply with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Despite politics as normal being paused while the nation mourns the Queen’s death, the Government responded to the action ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

The bloc had requested a response to its raft of infringement proceedings over the UK’s failure to comply with the rules before the end of the day.

I can confirm we have received a reply from the UK. We will now analyse the reply before deciding on the next steps

European Commission

European Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie said: “I can confirm we have received a reply from the UK. We will now analyse the reply before deciding on the next steps.”

What the UK’s response contained was unclear, but the Government was expected to set out how it believes that no operational changes on how the protocol works are required.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will be in Westminster for the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

It is unclear if she will be meeting Prime Minister Liz Truss while in London, although Ms Truss is expected to hold some talks with political leaders during their visits.

There have been unconfirmed suggestions that Ms Truss will speak to Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on the margins of the funeral amid tensions over the protocol.

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