European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press statement at EU headquarters in Brussels, Sept 8, 2020. (ARIS OIKONOMOU / POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

BRUSSELS - The European Union is studying the possibility of legal action against the UK over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plans to breach the agreement governing Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

The EU may have a case to seek legal remedies under the divorce agreement even before controversial provisions in the UK internal-market bill are passed by Parliament and that it would have a clear justification once the bill becomes law, according to the bloc’s preliminary analysis of the UK legislation. The pound erased gains from earlier in the session after the news.

Johnson is facing a backlash from the EU and from within his own ruling Conservative Party after his government said it is ready to break its commitments to the EU over the Irish border.

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The two sides will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday. The UK plan provoked dismay from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said she was “very concerned” and warned that Johnson’s move “undermines trust.”

Very concerned about announcements from the British government on its intentions to breach the Withdrawal Agreement. This would break international law and undermines trust.  

Ursula von der Leyen, president of European Commission

The proposals, which the government has said would break international law “in a very specific and limited way”, have contributed to concerns that Britain could leave the EU in four months with no new agreement on trade.

“Very concerned about announcements from the British government on its intentions to breach the Withdrawal Agreement. This would break international law and undermines trust,” von der Leyen said on Twitter.

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said that a telephone conversation with British minister in charge of planning for a no-deal Brexit Michael Gove on Tuesday evening he made clear that if talks on a future trade deal were to continue the EU had to have trust in London.

“For us this is of course a matter of principle,” Sefcovic told a news conference. “The trust to continue our discussion on the implementation ... is a must.”

Sefcovic called for a swift meeting with Gove to sort out the matter.

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“I will call for an extraordinary Joint Committee on the Withdrawal Agreement to be held as soon as possible so that our UK partners elaborate and respond to our strong concerns on the bill,” Sefcovic told a news briefing of London’s planned new domestic laws that risk undercutting the EU-UK divorce treaty.

In a phone call with Sefcovic late on Tuesday, Gove confirmed London’s commitment to the Brexit treaty’s provisions on the Irish border, a British government spokesperson said earlier on Wednesday.