EU Covid vaccine row: Brussels backtracks on invoking Article 16 of NI protocol after Boris Johnson raises ‘grave concerns’

Downing Street warned the EU that ‘as a friend and ally’ it should not attempt to disrupt UK vaccine supplies
April Roach @aprilroach2829 January 2021

The EU has backtracked on controversial plans to trigger a key clause of the Brexit deal amid a row over Covid-19 vaccine supplies. 

The move came after the bloc invoked Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol - threatening to throw up a hard border on the island as it announced controls on exports of vaccines. 

Under the terms of the protocol, goods should be able to move freely between the EU and Northern Ireland, avoiding the need for a land border on the island. 

Described by some as the “nuclear option”, Article 16 allows either side to unilaterally override parts of the deal. 

The EU’s original decision sparked a storm of criticism across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland. DUP leader Arlene Foster describing the move as "an incredible act of hostility" by the EU, while Sinn Fein said it was “seriously concerned”.

In Westminster, Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced his “grave concerns” to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen over the potential impact on the exports of coronavirus vaccines caused by the bloc’s unilateral actions.

The EU’s move came amid a growing row over vaccine supply between the bloc and AstraZeneca, which has two plants producing the Oxford vaccine in the UK. 

As the political pressure continued to be piled on Brussels, the EU announced late on Friday night that it was no longer planning to trigger Article 16.

A statement from the European Commission said: "To tackle the current lack of transparency of vaccine exports outside the EU, the Commission is putting in place a measure requiring that such exports are subject to an authorisation by Member States.

"In the process of finalisation of this measure, the Commission will ensure that the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol is unaffected. The Commission is not triggering the safeguard clause.

"Should transits of vaccines and active substances toward third countries be abused to circumvent the effects of the authorisation system, the EU will consider using all the instruments at its disposal.

"In the process of finalising the document, the commission will also be fine-tuning the decision-making process under the implementing regulation."

Coronavirus vaccines have been running out at centres in Europe, including Paris, Madrid and Lisbon, after delays by Brussels in bulk-buying supplies and production problems.

AstraZeneca has said it will not be able to deliver as many of the vaccines to the EU as initially hoped because of a production glitch.

Executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis told a Brussels press conference on Friday: “Today the commission has adopted an implementing regulation making the export of certain products subject to an export authorisation.

“This regulation concerns the transparency and export of Covid-19 vaccines.”

The EU wants doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to be sent from British plants to solve its vaccine supply shortage issues, after member states were forced to pause or delay rollout.

Preventing vaccines made within the bloc from being exported could damage the UK’s access to further supplies, particularly to the Belgian-made Pfizer jab.

The “vaccine export transparency mechanism” will be used until the end of March to control vaccine shipments to non-EU countries and to ensure that any exporting company based in the EU first submits its plans to national authorities.

The UK was not named among countries exempted from the new measures.

Later on Friday evening, Downing Street warned the EU that "as a friend and ally" it should not attempt to disrupt UK vaccine supplies.

A No 10 spokesman said: "The UK Government is urgently seeking an explanation from the European Commission about the statements issued by the EU today and assurances as to its intentions.

"The UK has legally-binding agreements with vaccine suppliers and it would not expect the EU, as a friend and ally, to do anything to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts.

"The UK Government has reiterated the importance of preserving the benefits of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the commitments that have been made to the two communities."

Mr Johnson was said to have had a “constructive” discussion with Irish premier Micheal Martin, setting out his “concerns” about  the European Commission decision.

“The PM stressed the UK's enduring commitment to the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and said the EU must urgently clarify its intentions and what steps it plans to take to ensure its own commitments with regards to Northern Ireland are fully honoured,” a spokesman said. 

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill she she had spoken with the Irish government.

She tweeted: "I have just spoken with the Irish Govt to raise my very serious concerns in relation to the invoking of Art. 16.

"This is a totally ill judged move by the EU and should not have been triggered. Calm heads need to prevail, this needs sorted urgently."

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said: "We are working with the EU Commission to try to resolve this issue and protect the integrity and operation of the NI Protocol."

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca published a redacted version of its contract with the EU, which the bloc said was important for “accountability”.

The contract mentions that the firm would use “best reasonable efforts” to use European plants, including two in the UK, as production sites for vaccines destined for the EU.

Earlier on Friday the Prime Minister’s official spokesman, asked about the prospect of a block on vaccines heading to Britain, said the Government remained confident in its vaccine supply, adding: “EU policy is a matter for them.”

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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