European Commission Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefcovic has told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs that an attempt to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol was a mistake, but it was corrected within three hours.
He said Article 16 was invoked as the EU grappled with securing a supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
Mr Šefcovic said the decision was made in the intensity of the moment as there were concerns that the EU was not getting its fair share of vaccines.
He added the EU did not want to block the export of vaccines but wanted to find out where they went.
A spokesperson for US President Joe Biden has said that it will be a "couple of months" before he has his first in-person meeting with a foreign leader at the White House.
Mid West Correspondent
The US Embassy has said it takes very seriously the concerns of the Irish Government over breaches of Covid-19 regulations here by US military personnel who landed at Shannon Airport in January.
The US Navy personnel did not present negative PCR tests or complete passenger locator forms as required under Covid-19 regulations in operation here since 9 January.
Concerns were raised about a US military aircraft, with five crew and 48 passengers on board, which landed at Shannon on 25 January.
Gardaí informed the US embassy about the breach of Covid-19 regulations.
The military personnel isolated in a hotel in Limerick overnight during which time they left the hotel once, while wearing face masks, to purchase food.