Just one month ago the United Kingdom (UK) officially left the European Union (EU) on 31 December, now both sides are facing a dispute over border issues in Northern Ireland.
Earlier, UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove had sent a letter to European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic requesting that the postponement of food transport from Britain to Northern Ireland be extended from a few months to at least two years.
However, the request was rejected by the EU, saying the post-Brexit trade agreement gave London ample opportunity for the UK to resolve the issue.
For all intents and purposes, under the new agreement, inspections do not take place on the border between Northern Ireland (which is not in the EU) and the Republic of Ireland (which is in the EU). However, Northern Ireland is still under EU rules, which means that trucks can cross borders without having to be inspected.
However, there are new ‘rules’ of the border between Northern Ireland and Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). This is because, unlike Northern Ireland, Britain is no longer subject to EU law.
This means that inspections will be carried out on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Even with such a rejection, the EU agreed to work with Britain to resolve problems that have prevented shipping work, especially food, from other parts of the UK and caused a shortage of supply in supermarkets.
