EU Commissioner Admits 'Mistakes Were Made' In Ireland COVID-19 Vaccine Border Row With UK

EU Commissioner Admits 'Mistakes Were Made' in Ireland COVID-19 Vaccine Border Row With UK

European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said Tuesday that "mistakes were made" by the EU during a recent COVID-19 vaccine supply row with the United Kingdom that saw the bloc temporarily trigger an article of the Northern Ireland Protocol that, in effect, established a hard border on the island of Ireland

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2021) European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said Tuesday that "mistakes were made" by the EU during a recent COVID-19 vaccine supply row with the United Kingdom that saw the bloc temporarily trigger an article of the Northern Ireland Protocol that, in effect, established a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The European Union has been fiercely critical of EU-based COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers who have exported doses to the United Kingdom. On January 29, the bloc triggered Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which allows one party to unilaterally suspend certain provisions of the protocol that was established to govern the border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, to prevent supplies reaching Northern Ireland.

The bloc's decision was slammed in both Dublin and London, and Sefcovic admitted to the Irish parliament that Brussels had made a mistake in triggering Article 16.

"When we speak about Article 16 and especially as regards January 29, I really would like to be very clear. The bottom line is that the mistakes were made in the process leading up to the decision and we deeply regret that, but in the end, in a matter of three hours, we got it right," Sefcovic said.

The European Commission vice-president said that Article 16 was not implemented, as the bloc acted quickly enough to reverse the decision to trigger the clause.

"Article 16 was never activated, and I can reassure you that the [European] Commission has learned the lessons and the Commission will do its utmost to protect the peace in Northern Ireland as it has done throughout the entire Brexit process," Sefcovic said.

Despite admitting to triggering Article 16 erroneously, Sefcovic accused UK officials of not giving their EU counterparts the required access to the IT systems of the newly-created trusted trader scheme on the border of Northern Ireland.

The European Commission vice-president also said that the situation on the island of Ireland requires "day-to-day care," and said that he would hold further talks with UK Cabinet Office Michael Gove in the near future.

The Northern Ireland Protocol forms part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, which permitted the UK to leave the European Union on January 31, 2020. After 11 months of negotiations, London and Brussels agreed on a future partnership deal on December 24, which came into effect one week later.