The EU has reversed its decision to trigger an emergency provision in the Brexit deal to control Covid vaccine exports from the EU.
The move could have seen checks at the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland to prevent shipments entering the UK.
The Brussels U-turn came hours after it was announced, following condemnation from London, Dublin and Belfast.
The plans had been part of the EU’s new export controls on vaccines, to combat delivery shortfalls.
It is the latest development in a deepening dispute over delays to the production and distribution of Covid vaccines across the EU.
The Brexit deal guarantees an open border between the EU and Northern Ireland, with no controls on exported products.
However, Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol part of the deal allows the EU and UK to choose to suspend any aspects they consider are causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.
On Friday evening the Eu announced it would trigger the clause and introduce the export controls on its vaccines entering Northern Ireland in a bid to prevent the region becoming a backdoor for jabs to be sent to the UK mainland.
It said the actions were “justified” to avert problems caused by a lack of supply.
But the proposals sparked concern from Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin as well as all five parties in Northern Ireland’s devolved government.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster described it as “an absolutely incredible act of hostility” that created a hard Irish border, while Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in a tweet: “The [Northern Ireland] Protocol is not something to be tampered with lightly, it’s an essential, hard-won compromise, protecting peace and trade for many.”