The European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference on October 1 (Photo: Reuters)

The European Commission had given the British government until the end of September to withdraw controversial provisions from its Internal Market Bill, which it unveiled earlier this month.

EC chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a short address on Thursday that the Commission has decided to send a letter of formal notice to the UK government — the first step of an infringement procedure.

The UK government, which has one month to reply to the Commission's letter, said in a statement on Thursday that the bill is designed to "create a legal safety net to protect the integrity of the UK's internal market."