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| Urzula Ponderrayen, Chairman of the European Commission. © AFP=News1 |
The European Union and the UK are in a nervous war over securing the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The EU, suffering from a shortage of vaccines, warned, citing a ban on the export of vaccines produced in the region. In response, the UK rebelled against the EU, saying it had an undemocratic idea.
According to the BBC, EU Commissioner Ursula von der Raien said on the 17th (local time), “It is possible to tighten restrictions on exports of vaccines to countries with higher vaccination rates than the EU without selling the vaccine to the EU.”
Chairman Pon der Raien instructed EU officials to prepare for the initiation of Article 122 of the EU Treaty. This provision allows the EU to waive intellectual property rights and patents, and to prohibit the export of vaccines offshore.
This provision has never been invoked since the oil crisis in the 1970s. As such, it is interpreted to mean that the supply and demand situation of the Corona 19 vaccine in the EU is serious. Currently, the EU, which is experiencing the third wave of Corona 19, is suffering from the slow speed of the vaccine vaccination. According to Bloomberg, in the EU, only 8.1% of the member states’ population has completed the primary vaccination.
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| British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. © AFP=News1 |
Chairman Pon der Raien’s remarks were actually interpreted as targeting the UK. The UK is the country with the most EU vaccines. Since January, the EU’s total vaccine exports amounted to 41 million doses, of which more than 10 million doses went to the UK. The vaccination rate is also higher than in the EU. The proportion of the population who received the primary vaccine reached 37.8%.
However, the EU points out that the UK is not exporting vaccines to the EU properly, which is contrary to reciprocity. Executive Chairman Ponderrayen complained about the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying, “The production is insufficient, and it is not entering the EU.”
Britain has accused undemocratic countries of using edge-of-the-edge tactics in response to Pon der Ryan’s warning of an export ban
British Foreign Minister Dominic Rab said, “(The UK) has never reduced or interfered with legally contracted vaccine exports during the COVID-19 pandemic,” and said the EU is accusing the UK without any evidence.