The UK government has said that they are “disappointed” that the European Commission has undertaken new legal action against the UK.

They said that a “legal dispute is in nobody’s interest” and “will not fix the problems facing the people and businesses of Northern Ireland.”

Earlier this afternoon, the European Union launched legal action against the UK over downfalls to comply with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol in a further weakening of relations.

The European Commission triggered four new infringement procedures on Friday. They said that it had been forced to act because the UK had failed to take part in “meaningful discussion” over the Northern Ireland protocol since February.

The commission accused the UK of failing to comply with customs requirements and not imposing EU rules on VAT for e-commerce.

The move will heighten the heat on Liz Truss, who as foreign secretary has had oversight of the negotiations with Brussels.

Formal infringement procedures start with the commission writing to the UK and demanding remedial action. If the UK does not conform within two months, the commission could take the issues to the European court of justice, which could fine the UK. The commission has also not ruled out imposing trade sanctions on the UK as retaliation.

The four complaints are that the UK failed to comply with:

1) customs requirements, supervision requirements, and risk controls on the movement of goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain;

2) the transposition of EU legislation laying down general EU rules on excise duties;

3) the transposition of EU rules on excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages; and

4) EU rules on Value Added Tax (VAT) for e-commerce, namely the Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS).

Source: The Guardian and The Independent.