The move came after Britain refused to withdraw legislation that it admits could break international law by potentially overriding commitments on Northern Ireland.
The European Commission announced on Thursday that it was pressing ahead with legal action against Britain over Brexit legislation that the government in London has said would permit it to break international law. The commission, the European Union’s administrative arm, gave Britain an ultimatum last month, threatening to take it to court unless it dropped plans to override parts of an agreement on withdrawal from the bloc that Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck last year. With the deadline having expired, the commission said in a statement that it had sent the British government “a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement.” Britain has 30 days to respond and any legal action could take months to unfold. That gives the two sides the opportunity to resolve their standoff if they can strike a deal in wider Brexit talks on a trade agreement.
