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European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has said mistakes were made in the process leading up the EU\u2019s recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\nEuropean Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic has said mistakes were made in the process leading up the EU\u2019s recent attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic said the commission \u201cdeeply regrets\u201d how it handled the issue.<\/p>\n
The vice-president came under scrutiny while appearing before Ireland\u2019s European Affairs Committee on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic was accused of \u201csplitting hairs\u201d and failing to engage with questions from political representatives about the EU\u2019s decision to briefly trigger the controversial mechanism.<\/p>\n
The EU backtracked on the move, which it said was due to efforts to restrict the export of Covid-19 vaccines out of the bloc.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic said the issue was resolved in a matter of hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cArticle 16 was never activated and I can reassure you that the commission has learned the lesson and the commission will do its utmost to protect peace in Northern Ireland, as it has done throughout the entire Brexit process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really would like to underscore the fact that Ireland and Northern Ireland was not only on our minds all the time, but also in our hearts as well, and therefore I believe we achieved very good results.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Northern Ireland Protocol requires regulatory and customs checks on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
However, the new arrangements have caused disruption since January 1st.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic added: \u201cI would like to stress that our commitment to the protocol is unwavering but we also have to understand that the implementation of the protocol is a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must be always a two-way street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have to recognize the fact that we knew from the beginning that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the customs union and the single market is a massive operation, that it\u2019s not possible to prevent all the disruption.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could do our best and we are working on it to minimize the negative impact on the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was quite obvious from the beginning that there will be teething problems and I believe that we can resolve them if we work very well together.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the European Commission is setting up a \u201cclearing house\u201d which deals with all the issues that affect the UK and the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic also said the EU wants to see more information from UK authorities, adding it does not have real-time access to its IT system.<\/p>\n
However, the EU official faced criticism from a number of political representatives, who accused him of not providing clarity around the bloc\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il TD Dara Calleary said Northern Ireland and Ireland \u201cwasn\u2019t in the hearts and minds\u201d of those in the commission on January 29th.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be remiss of our job if we did not pursue what happened in the days leading in to January 29th and I am concerned that you haven\u2019t engaged with my colleagues who asked around those issues,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou say Article 16 was never activated \u2013 unfortunately vice president with complete respect you are splitting hairs as the signal was given that it would be activated \u2013 were it not for the intervention of the Taoiseach (Miche\u00e1l Martin) and (Foreign Affairs) Minister (Simon) Coveney, it probably would have been.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe giving of the signal was enough to do the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Calleary said there should be a formal mechanism involving the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive when Article 16 is being discussed at official level.<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic said their primary objective was to make sure that Europe was getting its fair share of vaccines.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, we had the feeling that we are not always getting our fair share from the production which is made in the European Union,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimply, we didn\u2019t have enough transparency of where the vaccines were going.\u201d<\/p>\n
What we\u2019re still trying to figure out… is the events that led to you making that decision<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il Senator Lisa Chambers said the EU\u2019s mistake was \u201ccolossal\u201d and had huge political implications for Northern Ireland and the Republic.<\/p>\n
Ms Chambers added: \u201cWhat we\u2019re still trying to figure out, and what we\u2019re very keen to hear from you this morning, is the events that led to you making that decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you make that decision alone? Did you consult with your commission colleagues with the president with other commissioners, and when did you inform the other commissioners of your intention to invoke Article 16.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the crucial piece of information that we require from you this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Sefcovic said it was a draft proposal which was \u201cquickly corrected\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be better not to engage in any more blame game and acknowledge a mistake was made,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n