EU Parliament won't fix date for EU-UK trade deal vote

The European Parliament declined on Thursday to set a date for its vote on the EU-UK trade deal in protest at what the European Union sees as Britain's unilateral changes to Northern Irish Brexit arrangements.

Read more: The ugly divorce between Britain and Brussels is just getting started

EU parliament group chiefs had been expected to set a March date for its vote at a meeting on Thursday. However, they did not do so after the British government extended a grace period for checks on food imports to Northern Ireland, a move Brussels said violated terms of Britain's divorce deal.