Ursula von der Leyen says EU could punish UK over Brexit breaches

Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the EU will not hesitate to use the “real teeth” in the Brexit deal to punish the British government for breaching its obligations as MEPs prepared to consent to the historic agreement, marking the end of four years of high political drama.

Speaking ahead of an evening vote by MEPs, where a positive result is not in question, the European commission president said the trade and cooperation agreement would give the EU more leverage over the UK.

The UK government has been accused of breaching its commitments in Northern Ireland and on an agreement on fisheries, which was brought into force provisionally along with the rest of the trade deal in January, ahead of scrutiny by MEPs and their formal consent.

MEPs had delayed their consent vote to the end of April in part in response to unilateral decisions by Downing Street to extend grace periods on checks at the border on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a move condemned as a breach of the withdrawal agreement and international law by the commission.

Von der Leyen said she hoped the trade deal would be a foundation for a “strong and close” partnership, citing the vision of Theresa May in her letter of 29 March 2017 that had started the negotiations. But she conceded relations were at a crossroads.

“This agreement comes with real teeth with a binding dispute settlement mechanism and the possibility for unilateral remedial measures where necessary,” Von der Leyen told MEPs.

“And let me be very clear: we do not want to have to use these tools, but we will not hesitate to use them if necessary. They are essential to ensure full compliance with the [trade and cooperation agreement], and with the withdrawal agreement, which both were negotiated in such fine details and agreed by both sides.