In an effort to deflect domestic criticism  Ursula von der Leyden scored a spectacular own goal by invoking Article 16 to prevent the export of vaccine out of the EU to the UK thereby jeopardising the Irish peace process for which the EU had claimed prime importance in the years of Brexit negotiations. She was forced to backtrack in the face of universal criticism but the affair had exposed bureaucratic flaws in the EU project which many were happy to see.