display

London / Brussels (dpa) - The dispute over vaccine deliveries between the EU and the British-Swedish company Astrazeneca turned into a diplomatic crisis between London and Brussels on Friday.

It was not until late in the evening that the EU Commission gave in and promised to leave the Northern Ireland Protocol “untouched” in its export controls on vaccines, according to a communication from the Commission.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously called on the EU Commission to issue an immediate declaration of its intentions with regard to possible controls on the Irish-Northern Irish border and expressed "serious concern".

The EU announced on Friday that it would make the export of vaccines subject to approval in the future after Astrazeneca announced that it could only make a fraction of the promised delivery.

The assumption is that vaccines produced in the EU were delivered to third countries such as Great Britain.

display

In a first declaration by the EU, the impression was initially given that Brussels wanted to set in motion an emergency mechanism that would allow controls at the inner-Irish border.

The move, which was apparently not coordinated with either Dublin or London, aroused outrage in Great Britain and especially in Northern Ireland.

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 deal.

In this specific case, the EU probably wanted to protect itself against unregulated vaccine doses reaching Great Britain via Northern Ireland as a back door.

Late in the evening, Brussels made it clear: "The Commission is not activating the protective measures clause."

However, if vaccines are exported to third countries without authorization, the EU will use all available means, it said.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who had previously also spoken to Johnson on the phone, tweeted that she had agreed with Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin on a “satisfactory way” for monitoring vaccine exports.

Further details should be announced on Saturday.

display

The European Union and the United Kingdom have only one land border, it runs between the EU member state Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

In the course of the Brexit negotiations, however, it was agreed that no controls should take place at this border in order not to endanger the fragile peace in the former civil war region of 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.

The EU is creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, as the Northern Ireland Protocol should actually prevent, said Foster.

This is an "incredible act of hostility" and an "aggressive and shameful procedure".

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210130-99-229567 / 2

Tweet from Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Arlene Foster