To think that the EU have done more to endorse Brexit in the last 2 weeks than the UK managed in nearly 5 years

[Butterflyfluff]

I’ll start by saying I’ve never thought Brexit was in the long term interest of the UK and still don’t

But dear God, the EU’s behaviour over vaccinations and, in particular, the blatant prejudice around the Astra Zeneca vaccine has done more to endorse the UK leaving than anything that has been said in the UK before, during and after the vote

Ursula von der Leyen threatens to block AstraZeneca vaccines from leaving Europe.

She's not helping the EU cause is she?

Very pro EU here, but agree their actions over the vaccines have been very odd and ill advised.
Firstly taking an extra 3 months to negotiate a contract to reduce the price slightly, taking forever to approve it, then spreading the word that it was useless in over 65s, then stopping it altogether for no reason, all the while threatening to interfere with shipments to other countries that do actually want to use it. Bizarre!

I didn’t see any “blatant prejudice”, just sensible caution. YABU.

Yanbu.

At least now the words 'just give me one reason, one reason, please, why brexit is a good thing' can never again be, sensibly, uttered.

Why was is ‘sensible caution’ when the link to blood clots with AZ was / is no higher than Pfizer and the general unvacinated population anyway

Very pro EU here, but agree their actions over the vaccines have been very odd and ill advised.

Exactly my thoughts

And the counter arguments, including ‘yawn’ aren’t exactly convincing

They certainly aren't crowning themselves in glory.

Yes.

It has already driven Britain to start making alliances, deals and supply chains to cut the EU out. So I think many are surprised but COVID is accelerating Britain moving away from the EU. I think a lot of people thought we would be building a new relationship but I don’t think so.

Imagine if we were still in the EU now. The UK would be buggered over the vaccines! So glad we left when we did.

It’s the general incompetence of getting their populations vaccinated that’s astounding. Ultimately, EU is a huge sloth. It cannot do anything good fast. The good things it is designed to do take decades.

@Moomin12345

Yawn.

Such a valuable contribution Thank you for sharing 🙄 To answer your question OP, yes it's all very odd how it's spun out

I think the EU leaders are hoping throwing around accusations regarding the AZ vaccine and its supply will deflect from the abysmal vaccination figures across Europe. As Ian Hislop said on QT in the week, the EU approach has been 'how dare you prevent us from getting this vaccine.... And it doesn't work'.

What I find rather funny is that it was Norwegian scientists who first aroused the AZ 'concerns' that the EU acted upon so dramatically. That's one of the 3 In but Not In - EEA States - the other 2 being Iceland and Liechtenstein. It's the irony of it, nothing against Norway btw.

I'm all for publishing scientific findings and all that, but to try and ban the use of a very effective vaccine in 27 Countries during the greatest Global Pandemic in 100 years based on such a small pool of Research, seems a bit silly really.

As some of the 27 Countries realized before this little 'drama' and went out of the EU to procure their vaccines.

The joke is that AZ is neatly all currently manufactured in the UK. So even if the EU get their ban, they will get very little benefit.

I wish we were still in the EU but having done our own thing over the vaccines, which would have been unlikely.

It’s extraordinary isn’t it. Very pro EU and gutted we’ve left but also very aware that leaving has saved out bacon. If we had EU level vaccination rates alongside our already high death rates, we’d be completely fucked.

I don't see the two as linked really, the EU have really made a mess of the vaccines but I am not sure that negates the economic fallout of Brexit.

Also, if the UK was in the EU, the vaccine procurement may have gone rather differently as our Oxford vaccine would have been inside the bloc.

We are where we are - the UK has a good vaccines policy and Brexit has fucked up our economy.

I've said before on here that I didn't vote to leave but I would now.

I don't see the two as linked really, the EU have really made a mess of the vaccines but I am not sure that negates the economic fallout of Brexit.

If you haven’t realised over the last 5 years that when it comes to the EU it’s all about perception and feeling then you’ve been under a stone

It doesn’t negate the economic fallout out but it has made the EU look inflexible, insular and utterly ridiculous

How the citizens of the European are not demonstrating about all this is beyond me.

The way and Ursula and macron have behaved appallingly

The vaccine rollout here is amazing and needs to be applauded.

EU citizen here.

The EU has never tried to 'ban' use of the AZ vaccine. Moreover, the EU is not a state, and the country that banned exports of AZ vaccines (Italy) was not the same as the countries that started the (preliminary, now over) suspension of the AZ vaccine (Germany, among others).

There is nothing the UK has done about vaccination that it could not also have done while in the EU. Yes, there would probably have been pressure to distribute some of the doses now available to the UK to smaller EU countries - which in the big scheme of things would not be a bad thing - but the NHS was never under EU control.

The one constant, pre- and post-Brexit, in the UK is the piss-poor quality of debate about the EU and the rampant ignorance that permeates it. I should know, I lived in the UK for 15 years; left late 2016.

Imagine for a moment that the situation were reversed, with the UK short of vaccines and the EU not. Compared to the screaming and shouting Brexiters would be doing then, the EU is fairly low-key.

Here in Belgium, infections are up but deaths are still down. Vaccines may be few, but they've been targeted at the right people. Of course I wish there were more vaccines and less vaccine hesitancy here. But the way UK retainers are using the vaccine rollout problems in the EU to reconcile themselves to Brexit is, frankly, a bit pathetic.

remainers, not retainers.

YANBU.

@Butterflyfluff

100 million % agree.

I wanted out of the EU, and voted to leave, and I have never been SO GLAD that we left. I have spoken to many remainers this past few weeks (online and irl,) some who were VERY vocal about how all brexit supporters were bigoted racist arseholes. (According to them!)

Every single one has said they feel so embarrassed now, and that they can't believe the appalling behaviour from the EU.

They are nasty, passive aggressive, controlling, manipulative bullies (the EU,) and they are deluded if they think the British will EVER back down to them. They can get fucked.

Best thing we ever did leaving them.

Anyone who still supports them now should hang their head in shame, apologise for the way they spoke about Brexit supporters, and admit they were wrong, and WE were right! You cannot STILL support these vile bullies. Just back down and admit you were wrong about them!