Detailed: EU blunder over Northern Ireland

The current row over the European Commission’s ill-fated — and quickly ditched — plan to invoke emergency provisions under the Brexit deal concerning Northern Ireland has put the divorce settlement itself under the spotlight.

Against the backdrop of a chaotic first few weeks of post-Brexit trade, the British government has asked for a “reset” in its relationships with the EU.

Ahead of a conflict with Brussels officials on Thursday, the UK Brexit minister Michael Gove has said companies under the deal are “not working at the moment.”

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen apologized on Wednesday for “mistakes” made last month when export controls on coronavirus vaccines were briefly considered from Ireland, an EU member, and Northern Ireland, which as part of the UK has now left the 27-member bloc under Brexit.

The row has given ammunition to some calling for agreed post-Brexit arrangements over Northern Ireland to be scrapped.

Although the UK government rejects this, for now, it has been accused of exploiting the issue for its own political gain — and to deflect responsibility for complications that are large of its own making.

How serious was the EU’s error?

The EU Commission’s proposal on January 29 — quickly withdrawn following an outcry — felt sensitive state nerves over the Irish land border. This is the very country that all sides have ever agreed upon must remain open; both are the UK’s June 2016 referendum and the tricky divorce agreements that followed.

Amid the row over vaccine stocks, the Commission suggested invoking emergency rules under Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which forms part of the EU-UK divorce deal and provides the framework for post-Brexit agreements.

The plan would not have led to a “hard” land border, nor would it have stopped vaccine purchases, but it would have meant that export authorizations were needed.

The move was made without discussing London, Dublin, the Belfast assembly, or even reportedly Michel Barnier, now special counsel to the Commission managing the Brexit trade deal’s ratification.

Although the proposal was revoked within hours, political sensitivities were inflamed, and the torrent of blame from across the spectrum continues almost two weeks later.

“It is unacceptable that the Commission didn’t see the potential of destabilizing the Withdrawal Agreement and the Good Friday Agreement,” Sinn Féin MEP Chris MacManus told the European Parliament on Wednesday. “Now we need to guarantee that the fiasco isn’t repeated.”