Vaccine export row: UK PM Boris Johnson raises concerns with EU chief

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on January 29 sounded ‘grave concerns’ to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen over the halt of the COVID-19 vaccine exports as Brussels partially suspended terms of the Brexit deal. The EU enacted a vaccine export control scheme that stopped the UK’s vaccine consignment from entering the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, according to sources of BBC, the EU has now agreed to reverse its decision to temporarily override part of the Brexit after British PM Boris Johnson spoke with the EU chief in a telephonic conversation and expressed his worries about the potential impact the blocking of the vaccine shipment at the borders could have for the UK. 

In a tweet, after a talk with the UK PM, the EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “Had a constructive talk with Prime Minister Boris Johnson today. We agreed on the principle that there should not be restrictions on the export of vaccines by companies where they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities.”

The European Commission later confirmed that the shipment for Northern Ireland remained unaffected. The Irish prime minister Micheál Martin hailed the reversal, saying that the move was a "positive development given the many challenges we face in tackling Covid-19”. The EU has introduced checks on vaccines made in the bloc, being exported to the UK after the Brexit amid the supply shortfall. While the post-Brexit-deal seeks no restrictions on exports to Northern Ireland, the EU feared that the shipments might be exported directly into the UK via NI as the backdoor, and hence, the bloc resort to preventing the vaccine supply from entering into Northern Ireland by invoking the Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

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Safeguard measure

Despite that the Brexit deal guarantees open trade and borders with Northern Ireland, the EU suspended the deal’s article 16 citing ‘economic, societal or environmental difficulties’, exercising the export controls to the NI, eventually into the UK. Activating the new regulation against the UK, the EU commission said in a statement: "This is justified as a safeguard measure pursuant to Article 16 of that Protocol in order to avert serious social difficulties due to a lack of supply threatening to disturb the orderly implementation of the vaccination campaigns in the Member States.” However, Downing Street sought urgent clarification from the EU, adding that the UK had ‘legally-binding agreements’ with vaccine manufacturers and the EU, as an ally, shall not disrupt the shipment as the vials were essential to eliminate the COVID-19 health crisis. The UK PM also spoke with Taoiseach Prime Minister Micheal Martin for the EU to allow the shipments to pass. 

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