The EU is pushing to resolve the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, but the British government is not budging. Now the EU is taking the next step.

In the dispute over customs regulations in the British province of Northern Ireland, the EU Commission launched four new infringement procedures against Britain on Friday. Despite numerous calls from the 27 EU countries to London to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol, the British government has refused, the Commission said in a statement. The British government called the Commission’s actions “disappointing”.

For more than a year, attempts have been made to find common solutions in a spirit of constructive cooperation. However, the UK is not ready for serious talks on the subject. Instead, unilateral changes to the protocol will continue to be debated in the British Parliament. The procedure initiated by the EU could end before the European Court of Justice in London.

The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit agreement between Brussels and London and aims to regulate customs controls in the exchange of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. London had originally approved the regulation to avoid controls at Ireland’s internal border, as this could jeopardize the peace process in the former conflict region.

Now, however, the British government wants to abolish most controls between Northern Ireland and Britain and exempt British traders of goods to Northern Ireland from the obligation to make EU customs declarations. London argues that the Northern Ireland Protocol undermines peace in the region by blocking the government there. The pro-British party DUP has been opposing the formation of a government in Northern Ireland for weeks and calls for the abolition of the Protocol. The EU rejects a fundamental revision of the agreement. However, it has allowed for practical simplifications in controls.