'Unacceptable': France fires new warning to UK over Brexit deal violation
France on Thursday told Britain it would be
unacceptable to violate the terms of the agreement on the UK withdrawal from
the EU, after the British government introduced a bill to override parts of
the deal.
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his British counterpart Dominic Raab on the sidelines of a meeting in Britain focused on Iran that "a violation by the United Kingdom of the withdrawal agreement would be something that is unacceptable", the ministry said in a statement.
Le Drian's intervention comes after the EU threatened to take legal action against the UK unless it rewrites its internal market bill, the legislation that the government has admitted breaks the law by going against what was agreed in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The EU Commission says passing the bill would be "an extremely serious violation of the withdrawal agreement and international law". If the bill was not amended then the EU would take legal action.
Earlier this week the French foreign ministry said that the proper implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement for Brexit agreed in October 2019 was a "question of trust" between the sides.
"If that trust is called into question, negotiations over the future relationship will be affected," it said in a statement.
Britain said Monday it was seeking to "clarify" key parts of its EU divorce deal setting off alarm bells after reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was planning new legislation that would override parts of the deal he signed last year.
The government said it was taking steps to make clear how Northern Ireland's trade will be handled after Brexit, but insisted it remained committed to its EU withdrawal agreement and the province's peace process.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter Monday he had had "very good" telephone talks with Johnson on issues including Britain's future relationship with the EU but did not give further details.
Downing Street said that in the talks the two men "agreed on the importance of making progress this month and reaching a conclusion on talks quickly."
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Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his British counterpart Dominic Raab on the sidelines of a meeting in Britain focused on Iran that "a violation by the United Kingdom of the withdrawal agreement would be something that is unacceptable", the ministry said in a statement.
Le Drian's intervention comes after the EU threatened to take legal action against the UK unless it rewrites its internal market bill, the legislation that the government has admitted breaks the law by going against what was agreed in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The EU Commission says passing the bill would be "an extremely serious violation of the withdrawal agreement and international law". If the bill was not amended then the EU would take legal action.
Earlier this week the French foreign ministry said that the proper implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement for Brexit agreed in October 2019 was a "question of trust" between the sides.
"If that trust is called into question, negotiations over the future relationship will be affected," it said in a statement.
Britain said Monday it was seeking to "clarify" key parts of its EU divorce deal setting off alarm bells after reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was planning new legislation that would override parts of the deal he signed last year.
The government said it was taking steps to make clear how Northern Ireland's trade will be handled after Brexit, but insisted it remained committed to its EU withdrawal agreement and the province's peace process.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter Monday he had had "very good" telephone talks with Johnson on issues including Britain's future relationship with the EU but did not give further details.
Downing Street said that in the talks the two men "agreed on the importance of making progress this month and reaching a conclusion on talks quickly."
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