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Macron Says Eu To Blame For Vaccine Problems
31 Answers
so much for the Boris and Brexit bashers then...
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Hungary did not go with the EU vaccination programme: they have now approved no fewer than 7 vaccines for use and have one of the highest vaccination rates.
So well done it, although it does illustrate the fact that no country was bound by anything the EU did centrally. (And although we'lll never know, it seems most unlikely that the UK, had we still been in the EU, would have gone with the EU on this, given the advanced state of biomedical research here). They also had one of the worst death rates in Europe, comparable to the UK's.
So well done it, although it does illustrate the fact that no country was bound by anything the EU did centrally. (And although we'lll never know, it seems most unlikely that the UK, had we still been in the EU, would have gone with the EU on this, given the advanced state of biomedical research here). They also had one of the worst death rates in Europe, comparable to the UK's.
//Think it is something to do with us if there blocking supply of what we funded and ordered//
Absolutely spot on, bobbin (that’s twice in a week we agree!).
//However I don’t think this addresses the current argument over Astra Zeneca and its contracts//
There is no such argument. The relevant parts of the contracts were published a couple of weeks ago when this all took off. The UK had definitive quantities and delivery timescales in its contract; the EU had a “best endeavours” clause for everything beyond its initial supply. A Euromaniac said yesterday that the two contracts were signed 24 hours apart. In fact the UK’s contract was signed fully three months before the EU’s. AZ had the UK’s commitment and money for fully three months whilst the EU was discussing its bureaucracy and arguing over the price. That’s why they’ve got a shortage.
They now talk about fairness. Well if I agreed with a builder to do a job for me three months before my neighbours and my neighbours then wanted him to divert his efforts to them “so as to be fair” I’d be a bit miffed. The trouble is the EU is accustomed to prevarication, haggling and taking matters down to the wire in almost everything they do. This time they’ve come unstuck. If they introduce measures which prevent commercial companies from meeting their contractual obligations I think many companies will think long and hard before they do any business with the EU.
//I wonder if when our most vulnerable are done we ought to slow and let the rest have some of our supply to help them catch up.//
Er..no. When ALL of UK people have had two shots we might think about it. When the UK declined to join the EU’s vaccination efforts politicians in this country were castigated and called all the names under the Sun. Out came the “Little Englander” jibes and all the rest. If the situation was reversed and the UK was struggling the EU (and the Remainers) would take absolute delight in our plight, explaining this was a perfect example of why Brexit was a huge mistake. The fact is the EU has shown its ineptitude on a massive scale and this will go down as the third of their epic mistakes (behind the single currency and the Schengen agreement). It is entirely their fault and there is no reason why people n the UK should wait any longer than necessary for their vaccines whilst the EU “catches up”.
Absolutely spot on, bobbin (that’s twice in a week we agree!).
//However I don’t think this addresses the current argument over Astra Zeneca and its contracts//
There is no such argument. The relevant parts of the contracts were published a couple of weeks ago when this all took off. The UK had definitive quantities and delivery timescales in its contract; the EU had a “best endeavours” clause for everything beyond its initial supply. A Euromaniac said yesterday that the two contracts were signed 24 hours apart. In fact the UK’s contract was signed fully three months before the EU’s. AZ had the UK’s commitment and money for fully three months whilst the EU was discussing its bureaucracy and arguing over the price. That’s why they’ve got a shortage.
They now talk about fairness. Well if I agreed with a builder to do a job for me three months before my neighbours and my neighbours then wanted him to divert his efforts to them “so as to be fair” I’d be a bit miffed. The trouble is the EU is accustomed to prevarication, haggling and taking matters down to the wire in almost everything they do. This time they’ve come unstuck. If they introduce measures which prevent commercial companies from meeting their contractual obligations I think many companies will think long and hard before they do any business with the EU.
//I wonder if when our most vulnerable are done we ought to slow and let the rest have some of our supply to help them catch up.//
Er..no. When ALL of UK people have had two shots we might think about it. When the UK declined to join the EU’s vaccination efforts politicians in this country were castigated and called all the names under the Sun. Out came the “Little Englander” jibes and all the rest. If the situation was reversed and the UK was struggling the EU (and the Remainers) would take absolute delight in our plight, explaining this was a perfect example of why Brexit was a huge mistake. The fact is the EU has shown its ineptitude on a massive scale and this will go down as the third of their epic mistakes (behind the single currency and the Schengen agreement). It is entirely their fault and there is no reason why people n the UK should wait any longer than necessary for their vaccines whilst the EU “catches up”.
//It's not the same as a builder doing work for you at all, it's about saving as many lives as possible //
No it isnt, it is about contractual obligations the analogy is a good one.
Whilst I do want to see the good citizens of Europe free from this virus, if the situation was revered do you think the EU would be helping us out?
No it isnt, it is about contractual obligations the analogy is a good one.
Whilst I do want to see the good citizens of Europe free from this virus, if the situation was revered do you think the EU would be helping us out?
//…it's about saving as many lives as possible…//
If that were the case the EU would have got itself into gear and bought into the programme promptly in the same way as the UK did. Better still, it would have left the procurement of the vaccine to individual member nations. Instead it launched into its usual bureaucratic overdrive, discussing “shares” and “fairness”. Then it began arguing over the cost. By the time they were finally ready to commit themselves others had done so ahead of them. Are you seriously suggesting that nations which committed themselves early (taking a punt on untested products) whilst the EU was going through its usual prevarication routine should then have to tell their people that they must wait whilst the prevaricators “catch up”?
The EU’s actions (or lack thereof) were nothing to do with saving lives. It was an opportunity for them to display their political credentials and exercise power over their members. That was bad enough and I feel for the people in the EU. But that wasn’t sufficient. When they realised they had messed up big time they had to ensure that those who hadn’t (principally the UK) had to suffer. They (principally M Macron) began by trashing the AZ vaccine, making completely unsubstantiated claims about its safety and efficacy. Then they began a campaign of intimidation against AZ, threatening to seize its plants and patents.
As I’ve said many times, the EU is simply a treaty organisation. It has no assets and no vaccines to control or export. These are vested in commercial companies who have entered into contracts, over which the EU’s late entry does not take precedence. It’s all very well denouncing so-called “Covid nationalism”. But the UK entered into a contract for supplies for UK citizens and if those supplies are diverted then it will be UK citizens who pay the price for the EU’s ineptitude. The sooner EU national governments realise that their lords and masters in Brussels are not competent in the most important areas of their citizens lives the better it will be for all concerned.
If that were the case the EU would have got itself into gear and bought into the programme promptly in the same way as the UK did. Better still, it would have left the procurement of the vaccine to individual member nations. Instead it launched into its usual bureaucratic overdrive, discussing “shares” and “fairness”. Then it began arguing over the cost. By the time they were finally ready to commit themselves others had done so ahead of them. Are you seriously suggesting that nations which committed themselves early (taking a punt on untested products) whilst the EU was going through its usual prevarication routine should then have to tell their people that they must wait whilst the prevaricators “catch up”?
The EU’s actions (or lack thereof) were nothing to do with saving lives. It was an opportunity for them to display their political credentials and exercise power over their members. That was bad enough and I feel for the people in the EU. But that wasn’t sufficient. When they realised they had messed up big time they had to ensure that those who hadn’t (principally the UK) had to suffer. They (principally M Macron) began by trashing the AZ vaccine, making completely unsubstantiated claims about its safety and efficacy. Then they began a campaign of intimidation against AZ, threatening to seize its plants and patents.
As I’ve said many times, the EU is simply a treaty organisation. It has no assets and no vaccines to control or export. These are vested in commercial companies who have entered into contracts, over which the EU’s late entry does not take precedence. It’s all very well denouncing so-called “Covid nationalism”. But the UK entered into a contract for supplies for UK citizens and if those supplies are diverted then it will be UK citizens who pay the price for the EU’s ineptitude. The sooner EU national governments realise that their lords and masters in Brussels are not competent in the most important areas of their citizens lives the better it will be for all concerned.
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