Friday 29th January 2021
Northern Ireland worries about borders
Belfast calls vaccination dispute "act of hostility"
The EU is tightening the reins in the dispute with the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca. Now the export controls for corona vaccines could create what should be avoided at all costs in the case of Brexit: a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Arlene Foster has accused the EU of an "act of hostility" in connection with the corona vaccine dispute. By controlling exports of vaccines produced in EU countries, the EU is creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which the Northern Ireland Protocol should actually prevent, wrote Foster on twitter. This is an "incredible act of hostility" and an "aggressive and shameful practice". She will call on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to act.
Thanks to the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by London and Brussels, the part of the country belonging to Great Britain is even more closely linked to the EU despite Brexit and continues to follow the rules of the EU internal market. This is to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which could lead to the flare-up of old, violent conflicts. Export controls between the EU and Northern Ireland would contradict this regulation.
In the course of the dispute over delivery cuts by the vaccine manufacturer Astrazeneca, the EU had announced that it would closely monitor the export of vaccines in future and, if necessary, stop them. Pharmaceutical companies that have also concluded supply contracts with the EU will have to apply for export permits in future.
The EU made a statement referring 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 wants to protect itself against unregulated vaccine doses reaching Great Britain via Northern Ireland as a back door.
A UK government spokesman said Minister of State Michael Gove had already spoken to EU Vice-President Maros Sefcovic to express UK concerns about not being informed of EU action. One will now examine further steps. Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin has also expressed concern to the EU, a government spokesman said. Initially cautious tones came from Brussels: Some aspects of the regulation are still "under discussion", as the German press agency learned from EU circles.
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