Boris Johnson warns Brussels not to blockade vaccines or pharma giants will relocate out of Europe
BORIS Johnson today warned Brussels NOT to push ahead with plans to try and blockade vaccines – or pharma giants will leave Europe and relocate.
The PM made a last minute plea ahead of an EU-wide meeting tomorrow on whether to slap restrictions on jabs to help the bloc’s fledgling rollout.
This afternoon Eurocrats unveiled a new crackdown on shipments of jabs outside the bloc as the continent spirals into a devastating third wave.
They have expanded the scope of their powers to target countries that they feel aren’t treating the bloc “fairly”.
They will hold a crunch meeting to discuss the plans across the EU tomorrow.
But the PM made a last-minute warning to them today not to go ahead – saying pharma giants like AstraZeneca would simply flee and set up in another country.
He told MPs on the liasion committee this afternoon: “I don’t think that blocades of either vaccines or of medicines are a sensible thing, and I think that the long term damage done by blockades can be very big.
“I would just gently point out to anybody considering a blockade or interruption of supply chains… that companies may look at such actions and draw conclusions about whether it is suitable to make future investments in countries where arbitrary blockades are introduced.”
It comes as;
- India ‘bans ALL major exports of AstraZeneca vaccines’ until own Covid outbreak ‘stabilizes’ in blow for UK jab rollout
- Millions of jabs were said to still be sitting in warehouses in the EU not being used
- EU leaders are set to meet tomorrow to decide whether to rubber stamp a six-week export ban
Brussels has repeatedly complained that it has exported 10 million jabs to Britain, mostly of the Pfizer jab, without receiving any in reply.
British officials insist so-called “reciprocity” is about more than just finished vaccines.
They say the UK plays a crucial role in providing the continent with raw materials and has ploughed millions into developing new shots.
The new EU law takes aim at “countries which have a large production capacity of their own” but “restrict their own exports to the Union”.
In a reference to Britain it says this can be “either by law or through contractual or other arrangements concluded with vaccine manufacturers.”
Eurocrats complain: “This imbalance leads to shortages of supply within the Union.”
Brussels has claimed that the UK’s contract with AstraZeneca, which gives us first dibs on the vaccine, amounts to a “de facto export ban”.
Shipments may also be blocked to countries “which have a higher vaccination rate or where the current epidemiological situation is less serious”.
For these countries, the regulation states: “Member States should refuse export authorisations accordingly.”
EU boss Ursula von der Leyen said: “We have to ensure timely and sufficient vaccine deliveries to EU citizens. Every day counts.”
Top eurocrat Valdis Dombrovskis added: “The EU still faces a very serious epidemiological situation and continues to export significantly to countries whose situation is less serious than ours, or whose vaccination rollout is more advanced than ours.”
An EU official said: “What we put on the table is something very defendable. The question is how to ensure the fairness.”
So far Brussels has only blocked one delivery – of 250,000 AZ doses to Australia – out of more than 300 export requests.
EU officials insist the new measures shouldn’t be described as an export ban.
The move will heighten tensions with Britain at a time when Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel are trying to head off a full-blown vaccine war.
Yesterday the PM suggested he wants to reach a compromise with European countries as Germany’s leader ruled out a siege on British supplies.
He said: “We don’t believe in blockades of any kind of vaccines or vaccine materials. That’s not something this country would dream of engaging in.
“We’ll continue to work with European partners to deliver the vaccine rollout.”
INDIA JAB BAN
Meanwhile, India today banned exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to meet domestic demand as infections rise.
The vaccine is made by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine-make, and represents a blow to the UK’s vaccination programme.
“Everything else has taken a backseat, for the time being at least,” a source told Reuters.
“No exports, nothing till the time the India situation stabilises. The government won’t take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in India.”
The move will also affect supplies to the GAVI/WHO-backed COVAX vaccine-sharing facility through which more than 180 countries are expected to get doses.
COVAX has so far received 17.7 million AstraZeneca doses from the SII, of the 60.5 million doses India has shipped in total, and many countries are relying on the programme to immunise their citizens.
There have been no vaccine exports from India since Thursday, the foreign ministry’s website here shows, as the country expands its own immunisation effort.