The European Union recognised it “made a mistake” in triggering an emergency provision in the Brexit deal to control Covid vaccine exports, the Cabinet Office minister has said.
Michael Gove said he was “confident” of the UK’s vaccine supply and said its programme would continue as planned.
He said the UK was “on track” to deliver 15 million jabs by 15 February.
It comes after the EU reversed a decision which could have seen checks at the Irish border amid a vaccine row.
Mr Gove said he had spoken with European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič and both had agreed “we need a reset” and to put the people of Northern Ireland first.
He said Prime Minister Boris Johnson had spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and it was made clear that “supply would not be interrupted so we can proceed with our plans”.
On Friday, the EU said it would trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol – which allows the EU and UK to choose to suspend any aspects they consider are causing “economic, societal or environmental difficulties” – before later reversing the decision following condemnation from London, Dublin and Belfast.
The Irish Republic’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said in a tweet the protocol was a “hard-won compromise” and was “not something to be tampered with lightly”.
The move came amid a deepening dispute over delays to the production and distribution of Covid vaccines across the EU.
One EU diplomat told BBC Europe editor Katya Adler they were not consulted on the move and would have said it was a “terrible idea”, while another described the EU’s vaccination programme as a “car crash in slow motion”.
After speaking with Mr Gove, Mr Šefčovič tweeted their shared priority was ensuring the protocol worked for the people of Northern Ireland, “protecting gains of the peace process and avoiding disruption to everyday lives”.
Mr Coveney said he had also spoken with the pair, as well as UK Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis. He said the protocol was there to “protect relationships, facilitate trade, avoid borders”.
