Photographer: Anthony Devlin / Bloomberg
Photographer: Anthony Devlin / Bloomberg
The European Union was forced to change its new vaccine control after upheaval because it restricted exports to Northern Ireland, and re-ignited tensions that nearly toppled the Brexit negotiations.
Just hours after the bloc announced the controversial new measures, the European Commission issued a statement to explain that it “will ensure that the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol is not affected.”
The initial plan included an option for the EU to call for an emergency clause in the Brexit agreement to prevent vaccines from going from the bloc to Northern Ireland. The threat of restrictions between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland has been met with dismay in Dublin, London and Belfast, while all parties have put pressure on the EU to reverse course.
But while the EU’s executive arm will not cause the controversial clause, it has not completely removed the threat. He warned that it would consider using “all instruments” if the export ban on vaccines was circumvented.
Even increasing the poor prospect of re-establishing checkpoints will raise a delicate issue political balance. The key to the Brexit agreement was the avoidance of control between the north and south of Ireland, a border region with a flashpoint that had suffered decades of violence.
The EU move has even put traditional political enemies in Northern Ireland in rare agreement. Sinn Fein said it was a ‘serious mistake’, while the Democratic Unionist Party described it as an ‘incredible act of hostility’.
To be forced to issue a statement in Brussels just before midnight on Friday was the last in a series communication disasters for the EU executive, a week ago began with the news that AstraZeneca Plc will not deliver as many vaccines as promised.
According to the person familiar with the matter, the EU export proposals were hastily drafted, with the controversial portions over Northern Ireland.
Any tampering with the fragile Irish border issue does not just have political consequences. It will also worry about businesses in Northern Ireland, which have been in operation since Brexit on 1 January, have been struggling to import goods from Britain.
The vaccine measures, which take effect on Saturday, require drugmakers to ask permission before sending doses in the EU to other countries. Approval will take place if the amount does not threaten the agreed deliveries in the block.
Even with the amendment of the Northern Ireland issue, action remains very controversial. The EU has come under fire for controlling the World Health Organization, businesses and governments outside the bloc.
– With help by Tim Ross