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Originally Posted by Angua
Smacks of a panicked response following the EU's own delays to approving use.
Not an EU vs UK issue at all.
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Of course it is.
AstraZeneca put up its CEO for an interview earlier this week to let it be known that the entire basis on which it was given the vaccine formula by Oxford university was that it would produce it, at cost, for the UK, in the UK, in the first instance.
The EU is not a completely brainless outfit - it is well aware that in insisting on diverting UK produced vaccine, it is demanding that AstraZeneca breach a contract it has explicitly stated that it has with the UK government.
Pascal Soirot went on the record with his comments just a day before AstraZeneca management met EU officials. There is no way he didn't know they were going to be asked to divert vaccines that are produced in the UK and are therefore factored in to the UK government's public vaccination plan. There is no way the EU does not understand that its demands (if met) have direct consequences for that plan.
Just because the EU and UK are not publicly talking face to face at this point does not mean this is not an intensely political issue - nor that informal, private contact hasn't occurred. AstraZeneca has presented the UK government as the immovable reason why it won't give the EU vaccine stock from the UK. So it is going to have to get overtly political before long, unless the EU quietly backs off and agrees to assist AZ in getting its European production up to full whack, in order to supply the EU, which is what AZ has said was its plan all along.
---------- Post added at 11:02 ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 ----------
Gove has been out on manoeuvres this morning. He's told BBC R4's Today programme that UK-made vaccine that has been factored into our vaccination schedule will not be getting exported to the EU:
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Mr Gove said: "We must make sure that we continue with the effective acceleration of our vaccination programme. That relies on the supply schedule that has been agreed to be honoured. That's the first and most important thing.
"But secondarily I'm sure we all want to do everything possible to make sure that as many people in countries which are our friends and neighbours are vaccinated and I think we best achieve that through dialogue and co-operation and friendship," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Pressed on whether the government will allow vaccines to go to the EU, he said: "No, the critical thing is we must make sure that the schedule that has been agreed and on which our vaccination programme has been based and planned goes ahead.
"It is the case that the supplies that have been planned, paid for and scheduled should continue, absolutely. There will be no interruption to that."
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So, the UK is:
1. Not going to allow vaccine scheduled to be used in the UK to be exported
2. Wants to do what it can to help the EU out of the mess it has caused itself thanks to its stuttering, indecisive procurement policy;
3. Has nevertheless warned the EU that "friendship" is key ... that's a pretty strong veiled demand that the European Commission stop making ludicrous demands for UK vaccine to be exported for its use.
He has definitely left some wriggle room however. If AstraZeneca can increase UK production beyond the UK government's requirements to meet its vaccination programme timetable, there is nothing in Gove's comments to suggest that can't be sent to Brussels to help them out.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55838272