the european union has promised legal
action after the british government
unilaterally extended a grace period for
checks on food imports to northern
ireland
it's a move that brussels says breaches
the terms of the brexit divorce deal
the uk says it's taking steps to fix the
trade issues
but there are growing fears that this
latest fork in the road over brexit
trade
could threaten peace these trucks carry
goods from england scotland and wales
onto ships that cross the irish sea
to northern ireland here in belfast
products arriving from the rest of
britain
are subject to import rules from the eu
under brexit northern ireland has
remained part of the eu's single market
for goods
checks aren't fully applied yet but the
uk has decided to extend
this transition period for some products
without asking the eu
first that's illegal brussels says and
undermines the brexit deal
the european commission will respond to
these developments
in accordance with the legal means
established by
the withdrawal agreement but britain
says brexit supply checks are causing
huge disruption
a delay it says will give businesses
more time to get used to the new rules
we're taking some temporary and
technical measures to
ensure that there are no barriers in the
uh in the irish sea or to make sure that
things flow freely from
uh gb to ni and that's what you'd expect
the tensions aren't just affecting trade
paramilitary groups unhappy with the
brexit disruption have temporarily
abandoned
northern ireland's historic 1998 peace
deal
known as the good friday agreement the
group say they're not planning a return
to violence
but its heightening fears that northern
ireland's delicate balance of peace
is being destabilized