[noemon]

At first, it sounded like empty rage. The European Union had spent all week making wild statements about controlling vaccine exports – even challenging the notion of contract law. Tonight, it has started to act on its words and announced it will introduce controls on vaccines made in the EU – potentially giving itself the power to stop Pfizer sending Britain the vaccines it has paid for. Worse, it has announced that it may use its powers to impose border restrictions on Northern Ireland.

The EU is using the ‘last resort’ mechanism in the recently-agreed Northern Ireland Protocol, Article 16, that could unilaterally impose a land border that both the UK and EU spent years trying to avoid. At the time, the UK was assured this mechanism would only be used in the gravest of circumstance. As it turns out, it could be invoked after just 29 days – and, it seems, not because of Britain's behaviour. Just out of diplomatic anger.

This has stunned and enraged political parties across the UK spectrum. As Katy Balls reports on Coffee House, both Conservatives and Labour are pushing back on the EU. To Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, it is an ‘incredible act of hostility’ showing that Brussels has ‘at the first opportunity’ placed a hard border between NI and the Irish Republic. There is disbelief in Dublin. Micheál Martin said he has urgently called the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ask what on earth is going on.

The EU says it’s only using its powers to 'avert serious societal difficulties', because of its own failure to get its hands on vaccines. And Brussels has capped this off this by presenting Britain as the antagonist. ‘The EU has pushed to co-ordinate the vaccines contract on behalf of the 27 precisely to avoid a vaccines war between EU countries,’ said Didier Reynders, EU justice commissioner. ‘But maybe the UK wants to start a vaccine war.’

Northern Ireland gets its vaccine supplies straight from the UK, something the EU is powerless to prevent, so it should not be hit by any export ban directly. What makes this all harder to comprehend is that the UK and EU are at the beginning of a new relationship, and the Brexit nuclear button has been pressed at a time when no one in Brussels is even suggesting that Britain has done anything wrong.

Article 16 was designed to be used once all other pathways have been exhausted. It was meant as a tool that could be used if there were unexpected issues with the new trade rules that were creating significant economic pain. The EU has decided that its own failure to procure vaccines in a decent timeframe justifies its use. By triggering Article 16 so quickly and under these conditions, the fear is that the EU will erode the Protocol, by defining 'last resort' this way.

The International Chamber of Commerce pre-empted the export ban by writing to the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, issuing a warning that any such action could break down vaccine supply chains, as countries take ‘retaliatory action’ against the bloc.

The EU's decision is a clear-cut example of how desperate times lead to desperate measures: but countries are defined by what they do in extremis. Producing vaccines is literally a matter of life and death, and the bloc appears to have decided that no actions are off the table.

But by taking such drastic measures, it has also confirmed some of the negative comments made about the bloc: primarily that its so-called commitment to rules, laws and institutions only extends as far as its own immediate benefit. It is not on principle, but on sheer opportunism, that it preaches international cooperation.

Its movements tonight will not be forgotten. Countries will question how resilient their trade deals with the bloc really are. Manufacturers will think twice before they set up shop in Europe. It will leave a political mark too, not just tainting the Brexit deal, but impacting debates in the UK: Scottish nationalists may find it harder to argue that Scotland is better off in the EU than the UK, given the rapid decline of the bloc's treatment of NI.

The EU has long had its critics, but the most positive framing of it has always been its promotion of free trade and free people, providing a rules-based framework for poorer European countries living in the shadow of authoritarianism. Tonight, it has managed to undermine even its best credentials.

Admin Edit March 11 2021: Title amended as it was the UK that stopped vaccine supplies into the EU and not vice-versa

[ness31]

Wow, the timing of Brexit and the pandemic is just uncanny. I think there will be enough vaccines for everyone, but yes, the EU seems to want to use them as leverage.

[Rugoz]

It was never about "the peace" to begin with.

Also, who thought making von der Leyen commission president was a good idea? That woman was already a disaster in Germany.

[B0ycey]

I can't believe a solution can't be done diplomatically to be honest. And under good will. We have talked about the poison of vaccine nationalism on here before and here we are. First of all the EU needs to stop pretending "Best efforts" means "certainty" and work with Astrazenca to get enough vaccine to meet there vaccination targets rather than asking for shipments of bulk. And the UK should allow Astrazenca to relinquish some of their contract responsibities that at the same time won't hinder their targets rather than build up reserves. We cannot do this alone and until both parties are vaccinated neither are vaccinated in terms of freedom of control between nations. The alternative is barriers in Ireland and nobody wants that. Because all that will happen is the UK will just be using Astrazenca and the EU Pfizer and contracts will be delayed and that really only hinders the party who is having production issues when that happens.

[ingliz]

The UK announced that UK produced vaccine was all needed in the UK and threatened to block exports to the EU.

"UK weighs vaccine export restrictions

The move follows fears that vaccines produced in the UK could be diverted to the EU."

— Politico

The EU responded in kind.

What's the problem?

[Rugoz]

The UK announced that UK produced vaccine was all needed in the UK and threatened to block exports to the EU.

"UK weighs vaccine export restrictions

The move follows fears that vaccines produced in the UK could be diverted to the EU."

— Politico

The EU responded in kind.

What's the problem?

As a response to what the EU does:
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-weig ... trictions/

Your post is an outright lie.

[B0ycey]

What's the problem?

The Irish protocol perhaps?...

#readthethread

[ingliz]

Your post is an outright lie

Pressed on whether the government will allow vaccines to go to the EU, he [Gove] said: "No".

- BBC News

[Rugoz]

Pressed on whether the government will allow vaccines to go to the EU, he [Gove] said: "No".

- BBC News

You said "the EU responded in kind" while your politico article says the opposite (namely that the UK responds to EU export control).

Provide links to the articles instead of tweet-like misleading one-line quotes.

[ingliz]

the UK responds to EU export control

If the UK believes that the export controls do not break international trade rules, why are they making a fuss when the EU implements them due to a domestic shortage of vaccine?

[B0ycey]

If the UK believes that the export controls do not break international trade rules, why are they making a fuss when the EU implements them due to a domestic shortage of vaccine?

Do you even understand what has gone on? The UK hasn't made a fuss. The EU is the one making the action. Perhaps being a troll looking for quotes for political bias makes you ignorant. Just saying.

[Atlantis]

@Rugoz, you are either ignorant or you are lying.

The UK announced that UK produced vaccine was all needed in the UK and threatened to block exports to the EU.

That's not true. The UK has an effective export ban on vaccines. The UK claims all vaccines that have already been paid for by the EU.

In response to the UK's unilateral action and the fraudulent behavior of AstraZeneca the EU imposed exports controls to prevent fraud.

After half a century of EU/EC-bashing by the Brits, the British media is now working itself into a war frenzy. The only good thing about this is that the Anglophiles on the continent are starting to understand the true nature of the Perfidious Albion.

First they spread the British virus on the continent and now they are stealing our vaccines. Thousands of Europeans are dying because of the British.

The EU needs to hold back deliveries to the UK in the exact amount of the vaccines the British failed to deliver to the EU.

The only mistake the EU Commission made in the vaccine procurement was to believe the weasel words of the Brits. Instead of buying British vaccines the EU should have bought German vaccines, which are better anyways.

[Rugoz]

In response to the UK's unilateral action and the fraudulent behavior of AstraZeneca the EU imposed exports controls to prevent fraud.

There's no fraudulent behavior. The EU simply came too late and negogiated badly. The commission tries to cover up its own failure with this charade.

The only good thing about this is that the Anglophiles on the continent are starting to understand the true nature of the Perfidious Albion.

Jeez, you're a complete joke at this point.

[noemon]

Brussels has been forced into a humiliating U-turn in the face of outrage in London and Dublin after seeking to trigger a Brexit deal clause to establish border controls on vaccine doses moving into Northern Ireland from the Republic.

The European commission was forced to backtrack on its plan to effectively erect a vaccine border on the island of Ireland after both Boris Johnson and the Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, spoke personally to its president, Ursula von der Leyen.

EU sources said it had acted “in error” but the crisis highlighted the growing political furore over the lack of vaccine supply and tensions with the UK.

The move had been part of the European commission’s announcement that all vaccine suppliers wil have to seek authorisation of their exports, because of shortages in the EU.

Exports of vaccines could be blocked if they are regarded as a threat to the timely delivery of doses to EU citizens from companies that have contracts with the bloc.

The EU has been outraged by AstraZeneca’s announcement that it will only be able to deliver 25% of the 100m vaccine doses planned until the end of March.

The company has refused to divert vaccine from UK plants to make good the shortfall. Brussels has raised suspicions that doses have been moved from the EU to Britain in recent months.

The commission wanted to ensure that vaccine could not be exported to the UK through the backdoor of Northern Ireland. But under the Brexit withdrawal agreement exports cannot be restricted between Northern Ireland, which remains within the EU’s single market, and Great Britain.

To ensure doses could not pass into the UK through Northern Ireland, the commission had said it wanted to trigger a clause in the withdrawal agreement to allow it to control exports between the south and north of the island of Ireland.

Within hours of the intention becoming public, however, the commission was backtracking in the face of protest from the DUP, Sinn Féin, both the British and Irish governments and even the archbishop of Canterbury.

Johnson and Martin, had spoken directly to Von der Leyen, on Friday evening to express what sources described as “deep unhappiness” with the triggering of article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol.

A No 10 spokesperson said the UK was “urgently seeking an explanation from the European commission” about the move.

“The UK has legally-binding agreements with vaccine suppliers and it would not expect the EU, as a friend and ally, to do anything to disrupt the fulfilment of these contracts,” the spokesperson said, adding that the UK has “reiterated the importance of preserving the benefits of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement”.

Later on Friday evening, the spokesperson said Boris Johnson and Martin had held a “constructive discussion ”.

Following a call with the taoiseach, Von der Leyen tweeted: “I spoke to Taoiseach Micheál Martin this evening to agree on a satisfactory way to introduce an export authorisation mechanism for COVID vaccines.”

In a subsequent statement, the commission said that when finalising an the export control mechanism they would “ensure that the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol is unaffected”.

“The commission is not triggering the safeguard clause,” the commission said. “Should transits of vaccines and active substances toward third countries be abused to circumvent the authorisation system, the EU will consider using all the instruments at its disposal.”

Martin tweeted his support of the change of direction by the European commission, saying it was a “welcome decision”.

Earlier, underlining the intensity of the vaccine crisis, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, had warned in an interview with the Guardian that the EU had to “control” vaccine exports out of the bloc due to “questionable behaviour” by the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

Macron said controls needed to be erected out of concern that a major shortfall in doses by AstraZeneca, with which the EU has a 400m dose order, was a result of an “over delivery” of doses to countries outside the bloc.

“It should be controlled because there is questionable behaviour and we will be receiving fewer deliveries that do not honour the contractual engagements agreed,” he said

Arlene Foster: EU limit on vaccines into Northern Ireland is 'hostile and aggressive' – video
“Vaccine exports should be controlled, not blocked or banned, which would make no sense because we are also dependent on non-European production,” Macron said.

In his interview with the Guardian and a small group of other media, Macron also took a swipe at the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it appeared to be “almost ineffective” on people older than 65, though he acknowledged he did not have any official information to support the claim.

His remarks reflected rising tension over the issue of vaccine supply, which threatened to overshadow news that two more pharmaceutical companies reported positive trial results.

The twin announcements raised further hopes that the global pandemic can be brought under control once regulators have approved their safety and manufacturers have robust supply chains that allow them to deliver at scale.

On Friday, the US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson became the latest to announce positive trial results of its single dose vaccine.

It followed Thursday’s news that the Novavax vaccine, which will be manufactured in the UK, performed well in phase 3 trials.

Despite concerns raised in Germany about its efficacy for people over the age of 65, the European Medicines Agency also authorised the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for use in all adult age groups on Friday.

The developments underlined the UK’s status as one of the world’s leading buyers of effective Covid vaccines – Britain has pre-ordered 30m doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and 60m Novavax doses.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the UK was in “pole position” in the race to protect its population against the virus.

“Our approach of buying abroad and making here at home is paying off,” he said.

But this approach, and Downing Street’s reluctance to offer any UK vaccine doses to the EU, has infuriated member states – the Croatian prime minister, Andrej Plenković, described it as “vaccine hijacking.”

[Atlantis]

There's no fraudulent behavior. The EU simply came too late and negogiated badly. The commission tries to cover up its own failure with this charade.

You obviously don't understand commercial contracts. AstraZeneca is violating its contract with the EU by claiming that all of its vaccines have to be delivered to the UK.

The EU pre-financed AstraZeneca with hundreds of millions of Euros. The date of the agreement is irrelevant. The only thing that counts are the terms and conditions including delivery schedule. By diverting vaccines from the EU to the UK the company is violating every rule in the book.

[Rugoz]

You obviously don't understand commercial contracts. AstraZeneca is violating its contract with the EU by claiming that all of its vaccines have to be delivered to the UK.

The EU pre-financed AstraZeneca with hundreds of millions of Euros. The date of the agreement is irrelevant. The only thing that counts are the terms and conditions including delivery schedule. By diverting vaccines from the EU to the UK the company is violating every rule in the book.

Right, and you do of course.

The UK ordered 3 months earlier. That absolutely is relevant. The UK took a risk and now it pays off. AstraZeneca didn't guarantee a delivery schedule in its contract. The company isn't "diverting" anything, it's fulfilling its contractual obligations.

[ness31]

First they spread the British virus on the continent and now they are stealing our vaccines. Thousands of Europeans are dying because of the British.

Um, what?

[BeesKnee5]

UK has ordered 300 million vaccines.

Does that not sound rather excessive?


However this pans out, if either the UK or the EU find themselves storing vaccines then I hope they do the decent thing and make it available to countries running short.

[noemon]

The EU unveils vaccine export controls – what happens next?
29 January 2021, 5:49pm
The EU unveils vaccine export controls – what happens next?

The war of words between the EU and AstraZeneca over a shortfall in vaccine doses has just escalated rather dramatically. The EU have today confirmed they will introduce export controls on coronavirus vaccines made in the bloc. This means that as of Saturday, the EU will be able to keep track of all vaccines that are produced on the continent - and have the power to block exports to the UK and other countries.

What's more, the EU is invoking Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol (designed to be a last resort) to impose border restrictions in Ireland. The controls will be in place until March. The decision by the EU to invoke Article 16 has been widely condemned by political parties in the UK. Michael Gove has told Brussels he is considering next steps while Labour have labelled the move 'destabilising'.

So, what does this mean for the UK? While this is an escalation, there remains uncertainty as to whether this is just a mechanism for the EU to reassert authority or if it means vaccine doses headed for the UK from the EU will be blocked in the coming weeks. This comes as the European Commission faces increasing pressure from European member states to take action after an embarrassing week for the EU's vaccine programme.

It follows that bringing in export controls could be intended to (a) show the EU is doing something; or (b) send a message to vaccine companies manufacturing in the EU that they have to stick to their agreed timetables – or face action. The third option, however, is that the EU really could stop vaccine orders meant for the UK leaving the continent. While the UK has its own manufacturing bases for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, the same cannot be said for Pfizer. A delivery of over 3 million doses is expected in the coming weeks. Were the EU to take the drastic step of blocking these orders, the bloc would likely face a backlash and come under international criticism.

The unhappiness with the EU vaccine programme has been clear this week as EU leaders face criticism from the press and the public. As well as the German press savaging the European Commission over its handling of the programme (suggesting it has been the best advert for Brexit to date), leaders have sought to deflect from the current difficulties. On the same day that the European Medicines Agency approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for use on all adults, Emmanuel Macron claimed the vaccine is 'quasi-ineffective' on people older than 65 – suggesting this was the real problem with the vaccine.

So far ministers have been determined not to get drawn into what they view as a dispute between AstraZeneca and the EU. This could become harder to maintain in the coming weeks. This escalation from the EU side also puts pressure on Nicola Sturgeon. The First Minister has said she plans to publish the vaccine doses Scotland expects each week, even though ministers have asked her not to, on the grounds that it would give sensitive information to the EU that could be used to limit the UK's supply. To do so when vaccine deliveries could be blocked from arriving in the UK would be a high-stakes move indeed.

-----------------

[B0ycey]

However this pans out, if either the UK or the EU find themselves storing vaccines then I hope they do the decent thing and make it available to countries running short.

This is the way I see things too. Although they do need to hold some back due to their strategy. But until the whole world is vaccinated you cannot open up and as such will be restricted even if you vaccinate everyone. But to be fair to the UK, their contract is watertight and the EUs, well that is leaky unless you are a complete drone and can't see what 'best efforts' actually means. So in that sense the UK aren't a factor in this and merely a bystander in a dispute. And really the question now is down to morals. If we can help, we should help. Because the idea of storing vaccines for no gain because of a contract doesn't feel right to me. We should work will the entire world on this. We cannot open our borders until we are all vaccinated. And the WHO are right that we should be vaccinating the global vulnerable first rather the nations entirely simply because bottlenecks slow progress down.

#vaccinationnationalismsucks