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Critics immediately panned Brussels for even toying with the idea of placing restrictions on the Irish border, for fear it could lead to the return of sectarian, cross-border violence on the island of Ireland.
A series of hurried, worried phone calls took place between European capitals who had not been consulted on this move including, bafflingly, Dublin.
EU diplomats and officials in Brussels were embarrassed by what appeared to be a unilateral threat from the Commission to the UK, a sovereign nation, and a clear risk to civil society in Northern Ireland a weird flex for an institution which purports to promote and protect peace and civility.