LONDON (Reuters) -British employers called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday to overhaul regulation and tax rules to help them meet the challenges of Brexit, the post-pandemic recovery and preparing for a net-zero carbon economy.

EU lawmakers debated the post-Brexit trade agreement between the European Union and Britain for the last time on Tuesday, ahead of a vote that is expected to give the accord overwhelming approval.

Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said on Saturday he would step down as the leader of Reform UK, the rebranded Brexit Party he launched two years ago to campaign for what was commonly known as "no deal Brexit".

The European Union promised legal action on Wednesday after the British government unilaterally extended a grace period for checks on food imports to Northern Ireland, a move Brussels said violated terms of Britain's divorce deal.

U.S. utility companies Duke Energy Corp and Xcel Energy Inc said natural gas will remain part of their power mix for years to come to help keep electric grids reliable and power affordable as they transition to cleaner forms of energy.

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

Britain's decision to make unilateral changes to Northern Irish Brexit arrangements is "not the appropriate behaviour of a respectable country" and will erode trust with the European Union, senior Irish ministers said on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday the latest problems surrounding Brexit and Northern Ireland could be solved with good will and common sense.

The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Britain had breached the bloc's air pollution limits for years and ordered it to comply with the rules, raising the possibility that the country may be fined even though it has quit the EU.

Britain and the European Union are on course to agree a deal on regulatory cooperation in financial services this month, but the UK's actions in Northern Ireland makes it harder to build trust, the bloc's financial services chief said on Thursday.