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The European Union plans to delay legal action against the UK for violating the Northern Ireland Brexit deal, according to two people familiar with the case, while riots are gripping the province.
The EU started proceedings last month after Great Britain unilaterally renewed a waiver of control of some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The temporary exemption was part of the trade agreement that aimed to keep the Irish border clear of checkpoints after the UK left the bloc.
The EU had looked to move forward on April 15, but is waiting as it works on a joint plan with the UK to defuse the issues, the people said, who asked not to be identified as talks are underway. The European Commission declined to comment.
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Those considerations come as tensions flare up in Northern Ireland, with pro-British loyalists protesting the Brexit deal, which they say is at risk of shutting them off the mainland at the request of the EU. The worst riots have injured more than 70 police officers in years, and one hardline EU approach threatens to exacerbate the situation further.
The committee had asked the UK for a credible roadmap for the implementation of the deal, but the two people said the proposals were unsatisfactory. Nonetheless, the EU has decided to work with the UK on a joint plan and put legal action on ice in the meantime, the population added.
The delay will save time to resolve the difficulties, said one, with the bloc determined not to deepen divisions with the UK at a particularly sensitive time.
Under the deal that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated, Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EU’s customs union and much of the internal market. This avoided the need for border controls on the island of Ireland, but introduced them for the first time on goods entering the province from Britain, leading to delays and disruptions.
The UK has temporarily exempted some goods from controls, but last month extended the grace period further without notice.