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The European Union will postpone legal action against the UK for breaching the Northern Ireland Brexit deal, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the riots take over the province.
The EU started proceedings last month after Britain unilaterally extended a waiver of controls on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain. The temporary exemption was part of the trade agreement aimed at keeping the Irish border free of checkpoints after the UK left the bloc.
The EU had looked on April 15 to move forward, but remains as it works on a joint plan with the UK to turn off the problems, according to people, who called for them not to be identified as deliberations are ongoing. . The European Commission declined to comment.
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These considerations come as tensions arise in Northern Ireland, with pro-British loyalists protesting the Brexit deal, which at its own risk separates them from the mainland at the urging of the EU. The worst riots in years have injured more than 70 police officers, and hard line the EU’s approach runs the risk of further fueling the situation.
The commission had asked the UK to provide a credible document roadmap for the implementation of the agreement, but the two people said the proposals were unsatisfactory. Still, the EU has decided to work with the UK on a joint plan and put legal measures on the ice provisionally, people added.
According to one person, the delay is gaining time to resolve the difficulties, with the bloc determined not to deepen divisions with the UK at a particularly sensitive time.
Under the agreement negotiated by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EU customs union and much of the single market. This avoided the need for border controls on the island of Ireland, but introduced them for the first time in goods arriving in the province from Britain, which caused delays and interruptions.
The UK temporarily exempted some goods from controls, but last month extended the grace period without notice.