EU standoff with Britian over vaccines escalates

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Boris Johnson tonight delivered a stark warning that companies could pull investment in the EU if it follows through on threats of an ‘arbitrary’ blockade on vaccine exports to the UK.

The PM said businesses would ‘draw conclusions’ about the bloc’s commitment to the law and free trade after panicking Brussels unveiled draconian new rules seemingly targeting Britain’s rollout.

Despite anxiety in many member states about undermining legal contracts, vice-president Valdis Dombrovkis complained at a press conference this afternoon that the EU had exported 43million doses to 33 countries since January – including 10million to the UK.

He said exports could be restricted to destination countries that limit their own exports of jabs or raw materials – whether by law or through other means. Mr Dombrovkis said the other principle would be whether a state’s vaccination rate and infection levels were ‘better or worse than the EU’s’. Both criteria seem to apply to the UK.

In a seemingly conciliatory move, the European Commission later insisted it was in talks with the UK on how they can work together to create a ‘win-win’ situation on COVID-19 vaccines.    

However, the move – backed by France and Germany – has already caused an almighty uproar and was branded ‘mind-blowingly stupid vaccine nationalism’ by Tory MPs on Wednesday. Health Committee chair Jeremy Hunt warned the EU was being ‘idiotic’ and ‘destroying the possibility of a long-term partnership and friendship with its closest neighbour’. 

It was also condemned by Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, who said the bloc had ‘brought out the shotgun’ but risked ‘shooting itself in the foot’.

Downplaying the row, the EU Commission said this evening: ‘Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps we can take – in the short-, medium- and long term – to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens,’ they said in a joint statement.

‘In the end, openness and global cooperation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges. We will continue our discussions.’

Asked about the move as he was grilled by the powerful Liaison Committee this evening, Mr Johnson cautioned that there would be ‘long term damage’ if the EU went ahead with its blockade.  

He said the ‘partnership’ with the EU was ‘very important’ and he wanted to ‘continue to work with them’. 

‘Vaccines as you know are the product of international cooperation,’ the premier said.

‘I don’t think that blockades either on vaccines or medicines, or ingredient for vaccines are sensible.

‘The long term damage done by blockades can be very considerable.’

He went on: ‘I would just gently point out to anybody considering a blockade or an interruption of supply chains, that companies may look at such actions and draw conclusions about whether or not it is sensible to make future investment in countries where arbitrary blockades are imposed.’ 

However there was an outbreak of peace tonight as the EU and the UK Government issued a joint statement attempting to calm the situation.

They pledged to work towards a ‘win-win’ situation for both sides that increased vaccine supplies on both sides of the channel.

‘In the end, openness and global cooperation of all countries will be key to finally overcome this pandemic and ensure better preparation for meeting future challenges,’ they said.  

The row came amid extraordinary reports today that 29million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are being held at a plant in Italy afte raid by police. 

Initially, briefings to European papers including La Stampa suggested that the huge stocks were earmarked for the UK, but discovered by the authorities after a tip-off from Brussels. 

However, AstraZeneca later insisted none of the supplies are for Britain, and government sources said the reports were ‘not true’. 

Sixteen million of the doses are due to be delivered to the European, while 13million are due to be delivered to developing countries, Astrazeneca said. 

Meanwhile, in a major boost for the British drive the Serum Institute in India has indicated it could hand over another five million AstraZeneca doses that had been delayed and urged the India government to release the doses for export.   

The wrangling comes amid mounting panic in Brussels at its shambolic rollout, with French officials swiping that Europe must not be a ‘useful idiot’ in the battle against the virus. The EU is trying to maximise leverage on AstraZeneca to a bigger share of supplies, even though the UK has a stronger contractual position as it funded the initial development. 

In a sign of the chaos, hundreds of people from the Republic are said to have been trying to book jabs in Northern Ireland, where availability is far better. 

Mr Johnson risked fuelling the row last night by suggesting to Tory MPs that ‘greed’ was responsible for the UK being so far ahead – although he quickly tried to retract the comment, realising it might cause anger.    

 The UK currently gets the bulk of its vaccine supply from two AstraZeneca plants in England that produce approximately two million doses a week.

Ministers say that the country has enough doses on stream to cover second doses.

However, there have been hopes of additional doses from an Astrazeneca plant in the Netherlands, while Pfizer doses are imported from Belgium.

Both could be affected by an EU export ban, with some estimates suggesting a ban could delay Britain’s vaccine drive by two months and affect supply by 20 per cent.

Mr Dombrovkis said the EU ‘continues to export vaccines to countries that have production capacities of their own but when these countries do not export to the EU there is no reciprocity’.

The EU faces a ‘very serious epidemiological situation’ but ‘continues to export significantly to countries whose epidemiological situation is less serious than ours or whose vaccination rollout is more advanced than ours’ – both descriptions which could apply to the UK.

On the reciprocity condition he told reporters: ‘If a country of destination which has a large production capacity restricts its own exports of vaccines or substances – either by law or other means – it may be appropriate to consider whether exports to this country are justified.’

The proportionality condition meant ‘finding the right balance’.

‘Member states and the commission will consider the conditions prevailing in the country of destination, in particular their epidemiological situation, its vaccination rate and the existing availability of Covid-19 vaccines.’

But he insisted advance purchase agreements would be respected.

‘It is appropriate that we distinguish between poorly performing companies and well performing ones that are on track to meet their contractual obligations.’

Asked whether the Pfizer product, the main vaccine exported from the EU to the UK, would be covered by the new rules, Mr Dombrovskis said: ‘Concrete decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis.

‘These adjustments to the regulation which we are presenting today do not describe a specific situation or a specific decision which is to be taken by member states and confirmed or objected (to) by the European Commission.

‘Those decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis.’ 

Mr Dombrovkis gave a strong signal that the powers are all about extracting concessions from the UK over access to supplies. ‘The added value of this proposal is it should allow us to arrive at a more co-operative approach with our partner countries, especially those in a less dire situation,’ he said.

Health commissioner Stella Kyriakides denied that the plan amounted to an ‘export ban’ as she set out the ‘alarming’ situation facing some countries in the bloc.

‘We are starting to see more concerning circumstances, this is evidenced by the fact that 19 countries are now reporting increasing case numbers, 15 member states are reporting increased hospital and ICU admissions while eight member states are now reporting an increased number of deaths,’ she said.

Tory MP Peter Bone told MailOnline that the EU stance seemed to be ‘mind-blowing’. 

‘Vaccinations are a global thing. People provide ingredient to countries to produce this stuff under contracts. And countries pay for it.

‘I can’t imagine that the Eu, this great trading bloc, this law-abiding organisation, suddenly wants to tear all these things up for petty vaccine nationalism.

‘It’s not good for them and it’s not good for the world. I shouldn’t be flabberghasted about what the Eu does, but this time I am. To me it is mind-blowingly stupid.’ 

Former foreign secretary Mr Hunt told the Evening Standard: ‘Step by step the EU is destroying the possibility of a long term partnership and friendship with its closest neighbour… it is idiotic in the extreme.’ 

Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, hit out at the commission’s move, warning it could have consequences for the bloc’s vaccination efforts.

‘Everyone should realise what kind of danger we are engaging in: we might end up with less vaccines for the EU. Because now all manufacturers are being held hostage for the problems with AstraZeneca,’ he said.

‘The EU Commission brings out the shotgun.

‘But using the cluster munitions we may end up shooting ourselves in the foot because the supply chains for vaccine production might be affected and interrupted.’ 

At a Downing Street briefing last night, the PM urged the EU to back down – and suggested a compromise was possible.

Mr Johnson reminded EU leaders that ‘we are all fighting the same pandemic,’ adding: ‘Vaccines are an international operation.’ 

The PM ducked questions about whether Britain could share AstraZeneca jabs from a plant in the Netherlands which is set to supply the UK. 

But Mr Johnson suggested he would never sanction a retaliatory ban on exports, saying: ‘We in this country do not believe in blockades of any kind of vaccine or vaccine material. It is not something this country would dream of engaging in.’ 

After a frantic week of phone calls with EU leaders, he also tried to strike a positive note, saying: ‘I am encouraged by some of the things I have heard from the continent.’

But within hours he risked inflaming the spat again by joking with MPs that Britain had got the jabs ‘because of greed’.

In an online meeting with Tory backbenchers, the Prime Minister hailed ‘big pharma’ for making the vaccines quickly.

He told a private meeting of the 1922 Committee: ‘The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed my friends.’ 

He later added: ‘Actually I regret saying it’, and repeatedly asked MPs to ‘forget I said that’. 

Government sources insisted Mr Johnson had been praising the way capitalism drove progress rather than aiming a swipe at the EU.

It is understood that chief whip Mark Spencer was also eating a cheese and pickle sandwich near him at the time, and ‘greed’ was also a reference to that.

Mr Johnson likes to joke the he is a fan of ‘big pharma’ as well as ‘big farmers’ – another ‘favourite’ piece of banter with the burly Mr Spencer, who comes from a farming background.  

It is understood ‘several hundred’ adults from the Republic have tried to book slots as the delivery of the Covid jabs continue at pace across the north’s regional centres and GP surgeries. 

According to the Irish News, the head of Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme Patricia Donnelly issued a warning yesterday after ‘several hundred’ adults from the Republic tried to book slots.

Ms Donnelly said people will be ‘turned away’ from centres if do not do fulfill the criteria.

Around half of the population in Northern Ireland have had their first dose – but in the Republic the figure is barely 10 per cent. 

Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts said supply chain problems among vaccine companies are understandable, but accused AstraZeneca of repeatedly breaking its commitments to the EU instead of ‘engaging constructively’.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: ‘AstraZeneca is a company that is not straightforward, that cannot be relied upon.

‘They commit, they decommit, then they decommit on their new commitments without any warning.’

Asked about the fact that the EU has millions of AstraZeneca doses that are being left in storage and not being used, he admitted that many member states have a poor track record on their vaccine rollouts.

But he added: ‘We obviously have also to do our job, but that does not exonerate suppliers of fulfilling their commitments regardless of what the customer does with their wares.

‘The right way to deal with that would be for the British Government, the EU Commission and AstraZeneca at the highest levels to get together and try to find a mutually agreeable solution.’

Home Secretary Priti Patel dodged today when asked during a round of interviews about Mr Johnson’s ‘greed’ remarks.

She told Sky News: ‘The Prime Minister always acknowledges the strong success we’ve had in terms of the vaccine, not just the rollout, which is incredible, but also our ability as a country to develop the vaccine, the role that pharmaceutical companies and science and technology has played in that.

‘And actually I think that speaks to a great strength we have as a country.

‘And linked to that, of course, look at our contributions to Covax, the international scheme, to get the vaccine supplies elsewhere and demonstrate that we are a very, very strong force for good internationally when it comes to vaccines, science and pharmaceutical development.’ 

Downing Street yesterday declined to comment on whether the UK could impose ‘tit for tat’ bans on vaccine ingredients if the EU presses ahead with the move.

But a Whitehall source said any ban would be viewed as a ‘hostile act’. The source said Brussels appeared to be trying to distract attention from its own failings by blaming Britain.

‘They are risking long-term damage to their relationship with us in order to save the political careers of a few,’ the source said.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who is fighting to keep her job over the EU’s disastrous vaccine rollout, has toughened her stance towards Britain in recent days.

Today’s proposals are the latest development in the EU’s row with AstraZeneca, which the bloc accuses of prioritising Britain.

It could affect millions of doses of the AZ jab due to be exported from a plant in the Netherlands in the coming months. 

France and Germany have signalled they will support the move.

French Europe minister Clement Beaune confirmed the proposal would be discussed at a European summit tomorrow, adding: ‘We want to avoid AstraZeneca doses produced in Europe going to Britain when we are not receiving anything.’

German chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU had ‘a problem with AstraZeneca’.

But she signalled concerns about widening the ban to other vaccines. ‘There are a huge range of international interdependencies when it comes to vaccine production,’ she said.

‘You have to be very careful now about imposing general export bans – you have to take a very close look at the supply chains.’

Other EU leaders oppose the ban, fearing it would wreck the bloc’s reputation as a place to do business, and could spark off a global vaccine war.

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin warned that a ban would be a ‘very retrograde step’.

The Netherlands also opposes the jab ban, with Belgium and Poland among a string of other EU countries said to have serious concerns.

Angela Merkel says sorry as she SCRAPS Easter lockdown plans which ‘were my mistake and mine alone’ – but 37million Germans still face night-time curfews to slow third wave 

Angela Merkel made an astonishing plea for forgiveness today as she scrapped plans for a strict Easter lockdown in Germany which she said were ‘my mistake, and my mistake alone’. 

The planned five-day shutdown – in which even grocery stores would have shut on all but a single day – was agreed between Merkel and state leaders on Monday in a bid to halt the spiralling third wave of Covid-19. 

But it faced massive criticism from all sides, with businesses bemoaning the extended lockdown and medical experts saying the new measures were not tough enough to prevent the exponential spread of the virus. 

Already under pressure over Germany’s long lockdown and slow vaccine roll-out, Merkel was forced to make a dramatic U-turn only 36 hours later and admit there was no way the Easter closure could be implemented at such short notice.    

‘I take the final responsibility for everything,’ Merkel said at a hastily-arranged press conference, adding that ‘a mistake has to be called a mistake, and above all it has to be corrected’.   

‘I know that this whole process has caused additional uncertainty. I regret that deeply and I ask all our citizens for forgiveness,’ she said. 

Despite the U-turn, more than 37million Germans could be facing curfews and forced to wear masks in their own cars under other measures agreed at the talks. 

Merkel’s government has agreed to apply the ultra-strict measures on a local basis to areas where more than 100 people in every 100,000 are infected per week.  

But this is already the case in nearly 200 of Germany‘s 412 administrative districts – meaning that almost half of the country’s 83million people would be affected.  

The measures which could kick in across much of Germany would be the toughest that the country has imposed since the pandemic broke out. 

France has been under a nationwide curfew for months but Germany has never imposed a blanket stay-at-home rule in the same way as Britain has done. 

Areas above the ’emergency brake’ threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 will have to consider compulsory rapid testing as well as new restrictions on social contact.  

Local authorities will have the final word but recommendations from Berlin include mask-wearing in cars and a potential night-time curfew to drive down infections.  

Around 37million people currently live in districts with an infection rate above 100, according to figures from the German government. 

The areas under strict lockdown would include the centre of Berlin as well as major cities such as Frankfurt, Dortmund and Cologne which are all above the threshold.    

The new measures were agreed at marathon talks between Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states on Monday.  

But their decision to prolong the lockdown into April and tighten the rules over Easter has led to anger at a government already under fire over the vaccine roll-out.  

Almost all shops were to be closed in the Easter shutdown from April 1-5 while religious services will be moved online.

But the policy was scrapped at an unexpected second round of talks between Merkel and state premiers on Wednesday.    

Merkel admitted there were too many questions about logistical details such as how and when workers would be paid during the shutdown.  

The new restrictions come as infection numbers continue to rise in Germany, with 15,813 new cases reported in 24 hours on Wednesday.  

It compares to 13,435 cases a week ago, bringing the seven-day average to its highest level in nearly two months. 

The rising numbers are blamed partly on the British variant of the virus which experts warn could send daily infections back to Christmas levels or worse.  

Moreover, only 9.3 per cent of Germany’s population has received a first dose of the vaccine, leaving the vast majority of the country unprotected against the third wave. 

Only 4.1 per cent have received two doses, barely better than Britain’s 3.5 per cent even after the UK virtually abandoned second doses in January and February. 

The country’s vaccine roll-out has been plagued by problems including unwillingness to take the AstraZeneca shot despite its proven effectiveness.  

Germany’s total death toll rose past 75,000 today with another 248 fatalities, as the daily death rate shows signs of climbing again in the slipstream of rising cases.

The prolonged lockdown has slashed support for Merkel’s Christian Democrats, who had been riding high in the polls after Germany’s initial success against the virus. 

The party’s ratings have now slumped to their lowest since before the pandemic, throwing September’s election into fresh uncertainty. 

Merkel is bowing out after 16 years in power but her party and its Bavarian sister organisation have yet to agree who will run to succeed her.   

The party took a kicking from voters in two regional elections earlier this month which were won by the Greens and Social Democrats.