London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

UK tells EU it will keep waiving Northern Ireland Brexit checks

UK tells EU it will keep waiving Northern Ireland Brexit checks

London replies to European Commission in a letter setting out Britain’s unilateral decision to carry on with the status quo.

The U.K. will continue not implementing post-Brexit checks on agri-food and other products entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain, it told the EU in a letter.

The British government replied Thursday to European Commission action over alleged breaches of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a key part of the Brexit divorce deal regulating the arrival of goods in the region from the rest of the U.K.

In a letter, delivered by the U.K.’s mission to the EU, the government set out its unilateral decision to carry on with the status quo, a U.K. official said. British ministers had argued the so-called grace periods were threatened by the Commission’s legal action.

The move stops short of a threat the U.K. had flirted with over the summer — triggering Article 16 of the protocol, an emergency clause allowing either side to suspend parts of it.

The U.K. continues to argue that maintaining the status quo is necessary to allow talks to proceed with the EU on the long-running protocol dispute. It is meanwhile refusing to withdraw its controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would eventually allow ministers to impose the U.K.’s unilateral approach permanently.

Following the introduction of that bill in June, the Commission triggered a host of infringement proceedings, taking aim at the way the U.K. is handling the protocol. London argues that the post-Brexit arrangement for Northern Ireland is overly bureaucratic for businesses, and points to deep opposition among unionist politicians in the region. Brussels points out that the U.K. signed up to the arrangement, which was intended to avoid checks at Northern Ireland’s border with EU member state Ireland while protecting the bloc’s single market.

London has also requested a meeting next week to discuss Britain’s frozen accession to EU schemes such as Horizon Europe and Copernicus, as part of the U.K.’s formal dispute proceedings against the Commission over the matter launched last month.

The British government has declined to publish the letter or make any statements on its content as politics remains paused during the 10-day period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

A Commission spokesman confirmed receipt of the letter Thursday morning. “We will analyze the reply before deciding on next steps,” he said.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit London to attend the queen’s funeral Monday, but it remains unclear whether she will meet new Prime Minister Liz Truss before heading to New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×