A clarion call by UK for EU to stay in vaccine export talks come against the backdrop of third wave of coronavirus spread, compelling some countries in the block to go for lockdowns.
The UK’s request for EU was a response to one of the bloc’s top officials’ statement that there was “nothing to negotiate” and threatened to block shipments.
It was Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, who stated that there would be no exports of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine outside the EU until the company had met its vaccine commitment to them.
However, the UK officials urged the EU to show “solidarity and cooperation” in its approach in the context of serious concerns about the prospects of Brussels and London could plunge into a vaccine war.
What is obvious is the EU’s growing concern about not being benefited even though it is a vaccine manufacturing hub, while much of its production being shipped abroad and its member states’ vaccination programmes fall behind the UK.
“If [AstraZeneca] does more, we don’t have any issue. But as long as it doesn’t deliver its commitment to us, the doses stay in Europe — except for Covax,” Mr Breton had said. Covax is an international vaccine programme that is aimed at delivering vaccines mainly to poor countries.
According to a report in the Financial Times, he had said that the EU trying to ensure that AstraZeneca’s contract with the EU “is delivered — and of course we are here to also help our British friends … But we have nothing to negotiate”.
AstraZeneca contract with EU
AstraZeneca had entered into a contract with the EU in August for the supply of 300 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine with an option for an extension up to further 100 million doses.
The company could not, apparently, live up to its commitments as the supply of vaccines has been slow and in addition, it had reportedly to cut down its commitment to 30 million from its initial commitment of 120 million to the EU in the first quarter.
Mr Breton elaborated that coronavirus vaccine output from a troubled plants in Seneffe, Belgium, and the Halix factory in the Netherlands responded to a vaccine commitment made by AstraZeneca to the EU and must not be exported.
Among other issues, the vaccine shortage compelled some countries within the block to seek alternative suppliers; For instance, Hungary commenced administering Russia’s Sputnik V jabs in February 2021 even against the EU’s stance that the block does not need the Russian Covid-19 vaccine.
Despite drawbacks, the EU maintains that “vaccination is progressing steadily in the EU” EU stated that “By the end of this week, 107 million vaccine doses will have reached EU countries,”.
EU will also exercise export control over countries, case by case, where either vaccine programmes were more advance than the EU or where they (countries) have abundant domestic supply.
UK has expressed its official stance to The Independent that it would continue to discuss to ensure “a reciprocally beneficial relationship between the UK and EU on COVID-19.”
Solidarity against COVID 19
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson states in his previous statements, including one that co-signed by other world leaders, that “no single country can face this health emergency alone, and we need to address this challenge through solidarity and cooperation.”
So far the EU has approved vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-University of Oxford, and Johnson & Johnson. EU had delivered 88 million doses to its member countries, while over 62 million doses were administered. In the meantime, the UK, has administered over 30.9 million first doses and 4.1 million second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. The need of the hour is solidarity against the coronavirus and also to cement trade relationships between the UK and EU. Vaccine issue shows, without a shadow of doubt, that one country alone could not deal with such global issues and though the UK separated itself from the EU, both the EU and the UK need to maintain reciprocal trade relations in order to navigate in a world where trade and commerce may take precedence over global politics.
