//DD are you saying that membership of the EU would have tied our hands over the vaccine rollout?//
When the EU vaccine plan was announced we were invited to join in. It was during the transition period. We declined and the government was slated for doing so. All the EU nations were whipped into shape to join the EU scheme - "Far better to have joint purchasing power; stick together to get the best deal; etc.etc." Here's the EU's own information on its vaccine project:
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Who carries out the negotiations with vaccine suppliers?
The Commission jointly with a Joint Negotiation Team carries out the negotiations with vaccine suppliers. The members of the Joint Negotiation Team – representing seven Member States - are appointed by a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee discusses and reviews all aspects of the Advanced Purchase Agreement (APA) contracts before signature. All EU Member States are represented in this Committee, which meets on a weekly basis.
Did all Member States agree with this approach?
All Member States have endorsed this approach, which is at the heart of the EU Vaccines Strategy. At the European Council in June 2020, the Member States of the European Union mandated the Commission to organise the joint procurement of vaccines. As a result, the European Commission has started talks with the most promising vaccine manufacturers.
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As far as the EU's procurement of the AZ vaccine, about which there is so much controversy, here's the relevant extract from their timeline:
14 August 2020
Commission approves APA (Advanced Purchasing Agreement) with AstraZeneca (for the purchase of 300 million doses of the vaccine, with an option to purchase 100 million more)
27 August 2020
Entry into force of the APA with AstraZeneca
For some reason the EU contends that the UK signed it's contract with AZ a day later on 28th August. In fact, as AZ confirms, it was signed in June, before the "...Member States of the European Union mandated the Commission to organise the joint procurement of vaccines."
There is no doubt that had the UK remained a member of the EU it would have been sucked into this scheme and would have been subject to the procrastination and prevarication of the Eurocrats. It was only when that process went so disastrously wrong that individual members struck out and made their own arrangements.
As I've said before, the EU is fine at discussing and debating the price at which beetroot must be traded among its captive members. When it comes to making important decisions in a timely fashion, its bureaucracy sees it come up woefully short.