Backlash builds after jabs EU-turn

CRITICISM of the European Union is mounting after it tried to stop vaccine exports reaching the UK through Northern Ireland – then abruptly backtracked.

The European Commission triggered Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to stop shipments of jabs entering the UK.

Politicians in London and Dublin accused it of overriding part of the Brexit deal to effectively create a hard border on the island of Ireland. Despite criticism from the

World Health Organisation, the EU is pushing ahead with imposing controls on vaccines manufactured within member states.

This could hinder the UK’s access to the Belgian-made Pfizer vaccine.

The U-turn on Northern Ireland came after Boris Johnson expressed his “grave concern” to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. She said:

“We agreed on the principle that there should not be restrictions on the export of vaccines by companies where they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities.”

But the U-turn did little to stem the tide of criticism, with Julian

Smith, a Tory MP and former Northern Ireland Secretary, saying the “EU cocked up big time” in risking a hard border returning to Ireland.

“It was an almost Trumpian act,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Ireland’s foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney said: “Lessons should be learned.”

He went on to warn that the Protocol “is not something to be tampered with lightly, it’s an essential, hard-won compromise, protecting peace and trade for many”.