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- The dispute over the supply of vaccines between the EU and the British-Swedish company Astra-Zeneca turned into a diplomatic crisis between London and Brussels on Friday.
- It was not until late at night that the EU Commission gave in and promised to leave the Northern Ireland Protocol “intact” in its vaccine export controls, as stated in a Commission communication.
- Northern Ireland Prime Minister Arlene Foster had previously accused the EU of an “act of hostility”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also asked the EU Commission to immediately explain its intentions regarding possible checks at the Northern Ireland-Northern Ireland border and expressed “serious concern”.
Bright outrage
The EU announced on Friday that it would make the export of vaccines subject to future approval after Astra-Zeneca announced that it could only make a fraction of the promised delivery. Vaccines produced in the EU are assumed to have been delivered to third countries such as Great Britain.
In a first EU statement, the impression was initially given that Brussels wanted to put in place an emergency mechanism that would allow controls at the Irish internal border. The move, apparently uncoordinated with Dublin or London, sparked outrage in Britain and especially Northern Ireland.
“Satisfactory way”
The EU statement, which was later removed from the website, referred to Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which allows unilateral safeguards in the event of unexpected negative effects of the agreement. In this specific case, the EU probably wanted to protect itself against unregulated doses of vaccines arriving in Britain through Northern Ireland as a back door.
Late in the evening, Brussels made it clear: “The Commission does not activate the protective measures clause.” However, if the vaccines are exported to third countries without authorization, the EU will use all available means, he said.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had also previously spoken to Johnson by phone, tweeted that she had agreed with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin on a “satisfactory way” to monitor vaccine exports. More details are due to be announced on Saturday.
Dreaded hard limit
The European Union and the United Kingdom have only one land border, which stretches between the EU member state Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland. However, in the course of the Brexit negotiations, it was agreed that controls should not be carried out on this border in order not to jeopardize the fragile peace in the former civil war region of Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Prime Minister Arlene Foster accused the EU of an “act of hostility” in connection with the corona vaccine dispute. The EU is creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, as the Northern Ireland Protocol should prevent it, Foster said.
