British Member of Parliament Michael Gove said the European Union’s (EU) decision to reconsider exporting vaccines to Northern Ireland has opened up a “Pandora’s Box” in the bloc’s post-Brexit arrangement with the United Kingdom (UK). Consequently, he called for a “reset” to the two sides’ Northern Ireland protocol, saying that the current arrangement was “not working.” He added that the Northern Ireland region was at the centre of the ongoing “disruption and interference” and that it was the UK’s responsibility to protect the region from the harms caused by the EU’s policies.
According to the post-Brexit agreement between the EU and UK, the two sides agreed to leave the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which is a member of the EU, open and free from checks of goods moving across the border. This is in contrast to the rest of the UK, which is subject to several checks in accordance with the EU regulations. The above-mentioned protocol found itself at the centre of a controversy last month, when the EU accused the UK of exploiting this arrangement to import vaccines. Consequently, the EU threatened to invoke Article 16 of the Brexit agreement, which allows the EU to control goods deliveries across its border with Northern Ireland in case of a shortage in the bloc. Accordingly, Gove said, “Article 16 isn’t there to ensure the EU’s vaccine procurement program can be salvaged … That is completely inappropriate.” He also called upon the European Commission to consult with member states before invoking the Article.
However, after facing a backlash from political leaders and the general public in Ireland, the UK, and Northern Ireland, the EU clarified that the Northern Ireland Protocol, which calls for open borders between Ireland and Northern Ireland, would remain unaffected. Nevertheless, it warned that if vaccines are moved outside the bloc, European authorities would not hesitate to use “all the instruments at its disposal.”
In addition to this, the Northern Ireland Protocol also calls for certain products entering Northern Ireland from the UK to be subject to checks by EU authorities, too. Consequently, several deliveries, including those of perishable food exports, were subject to delays. Responding to this, the UK accused the EU authorities of abusing the policies and deliberately delaying the deliveries. Moreover, the border staff in the Northern Ireland-UK border also faced threats by the general public, thereby forcing the authorities to stop inspections at the Belfast and Larne ports.
Following these heightened tensions, the EU and the UK agreed to “work intensively” towards bringing an end to this dispute. Following a discussion on the above, both the parties released a joint statement reassuring audiences of their “constructive” talks.
Northern Ireland Controversy Deepens EU-UK Differences Post-Brexit
Following several controversies surrounding the EU-UK arrangement on checks along both their borders with Northern Ireland, a British MP has called for a “reset” in the Northern Ireland protocol.
February 9, 2021
SOURCE: BBC