Welcome to the new protectionist nationalistic world post Brexit and Covid .
European governments could well be driven to curb and bear down on the EU commission.
Will become a significant issue in Merkel succession and subsequent election, political correspondent of German paper De. Welt says German gov’ not well pleased with poor management of EU commission and will demand changes.
Then there are 2022 elections here, a gift to Eurosceptics.
…Sill Brits won the waaaar…and we will win this one and let’s tear up the agreement so says the ex leader (where is he now?) of the 52%
All mind bending stuff, as usual with legal wrangles.
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From Stay European newsletter Saturday 30 january
“No, EU can’t have our jabs!” screamed the Daily Mail . In the week the UK marked 100,000 coronavirus deaths, Brexiters have grabbed onto this defend-our-vaccines campaign to try to make a bogeyman of the EU once again, and claim a higher inoculation rate as a “Brexit success”.
We must say no to this vaccine nationalism – vaccination is not a contest between countries. There is no such thing as a “UK vaccine”: each one was based on international collaboration and developed by a team of scientists from around the world.
You can’t stop a pandemic in one country alone. It’s not about being “world beating”, it’s about the whole world beating the virus. We need vaccines for all.
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That is The Daily Mail.
Strange, I have just read an opinion by one lawyer, which agrees with my daughter’s opinion and she signs contracts with bio-tech firms as her job, that there is no obligation on AstraZeneca to provide vaccine from the UK because it has experienced manufacturing delays in its EU factories.
Also there are always causes which exempts the supplier from a fixed delivery date if unavoidable delays prevent delivery on the agreed date.
It would be commercial suicide to sign a contract in the way that the EU is interpreting it.
It does appear that the EU is, yet again, trying to put the blame on its dithering onto someone else.
The vaccine has only just been given approval in the EU.
I also think that the EU has been left with egg on its face as it looks over the Channel and the success of the UK programme, which has been in place for several years increasing vaccine production in UK.
Kate Bingham, Head of the UK Vaccine Task Force has been an outstanding success and she puts the forward position of UK down to all the volunteers who took part in the trials programme and the support Government has given to manufacturers to get on with infrastructure and placing of orders well in advance.
Sour grapes EU.
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The UK has done a reasonable job with vaccines, but the constant bragging and crowing I find is hugely offensive in a country where the death rate is so high. It turns my stomach that they are making political capital out of people dying.
A little humility might not go amiss when there is so much yet to negotiate with the EU apart from vaccines.
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I think that the vaccine situation should be kept separate from anything to do with trade and the difficulties UK exporters are having with red tape etc.
The EU have acted as badly with their gaffe over Article 16 as BoJo did in trying to wriggle out of a binding treaty.
At the moment I don’t trust either of them, but the Commission has made a real hash of its dealings with Covid and is trying to drum up a storm of protest to hide its own inadequacies.
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I don’t see it as that. Rather, to me, they are recognising the reality/tragedy of the situation and doing their damnedest to put things right as fast as they can.
I lived in Brazil in the 70’s so I have more than a passing interest the the situation there. Try looking for regret / humility / trying to put things right there!
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Agree there’ no comparison with Brazil…so sort out vaccines so other countries in desperate need can have some.
However I can’t see that that offensive advert of “England Number 1 in Europe for vaccinations” is anything other than crowing. And they use “world beating vaccination programme” endlessly.
Very simple …if you justifiably criticise Johnson and gang for screw up and indecision through autumn and now…some of worst out comes …then it’s only fair to praise him when he gets it right with 450,000 daily vaccinations and 8m+ total, and hold EU to account for their mess up over vacination variability and roll out.
Unfortunately their poor performance is more grist to the mill of Brexiteers, DUP, Tory right wing and UK tabloids.
But when uk gets something right then it should be acknowledged.
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I agree and find it very sad that the skills and abilities that there are in spades in the UK are being forgotten and not being acknowledged.
The UK is not “just” Boris Johnson, although from some comments on SF one might be forgiven for thinking that’s what people believe.
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Having supported the EU faithfully throughout the Brexit nightmare against the jingoistic noises from UK, I was saddened and felt let down by the latest Commission’s antics. If nothing else they have lost the moral high ground gained when Johnson tried to renege on the WA. What a gift to the extreme Brexy right.
No less disappointed with our leader in Paris and his comments about AstraZeneca not being suitable for the elderly. What on earth possessed him to make such a gaffe, surely not sour grapes because of the scandalous lack of any kind of vaccine in France at the moment.
Spoken as someone totally unable to get even a forward rdv anywhere in 3 adjacent departements.
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Yes, it has dented my support for M.Macron and co.
Remain positive, there will be more vaccine soon. So keep on staying safe and we’ll all get there in the end.
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I wouldn’t put it as ‘crowing’, I think it is more to reassure people that there maybe a light at the end of the tunnel.
I know that everyone, everywhere, is worried, but considering that the EU were 3 months behind the UK in placing their orders for the vaccine and only passed it last Friday, I think that you maybe laying blame on the wrong doorstep.
With deaths from Covid reaching 1600 per day in the UK last week, without the daily vaccination totals being broadcasted, I think that the country would have fallen into despair.
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My family in the UK are despairing… the older ones are vaccinated but all are seriously miserable.
You are right. His approach has been to clear away bureacracy and stupidities in order to just get things done, which works both negatively and in the case of vaccines, positively.
I’m not sure I would quite put it that way - ridden roughshod over procedure to get Brexit through, used every tool he has to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and agreed to treaties that he does not understand just to get a hugely self-damaging project over the line. This has all, and only, been in the name of Brexit.
For everything else, except vaccination, this government has been a disaster.
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The problem is they have stuffed everything else up but they have got vaccination right ,however some people seem to be very bitter about this rather than acknowledge a good thing
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I acknowledge freely that they are doing well with vaccines, and so do my friends/family in the UK. I’m not bitter about it, but pleased since it affects people I love.
And although this is of vital importance it doesn’t make up for the catastrophic effect he and his Government have had on so many things. And I hate and loathe the way they are using this success to divert attention away from other things. My niece (NHS Emergency medicine doc) is in tatters, then other (arts) is in despair about her job prospects.
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No one is saying it does make up for the previous mistakes
The other thing I was discussing with family last night is the tremendous positive effect of the volunteering culture in the UK has had on getting people vaccinated. All the centres people I know have been to have used large numbers of volunteers, from people helping with travel, to the paperwork and organisation, St John’s people on standby and large numbers of newly trained volunteer vaccinators.
Boris has always rejected local initiatives but it seems the places that have been the most successful in getting jabs in arms have been where local doctors and volunteers have been involved. I hope he recognises them.
I’m not sure the French culture will produce quite as many at the snap of a finger, which might also slow things down once they have vaccine to administer.